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ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 

OF 

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM 
OF NATURAL HISTORY 

Vol. XXV, Part II 

THE RELIGION OF THE CROW INDIANS 

BY 
ROBERT H. LOWIE 



THE 

7 AMERICAN 1 
MUSEUM 

NATURAL 
HISTORY 

Ik fTv^ 



'SCIENCE^ 
EDUCATION 



NEW YORK 

PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES 

1922 



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THE RELIGION OF THE CROW INDIANS. 
By Robert H. Lowie. 



CONTENTS. 

PREFACE .... 
SUPERNATURAL BEINGS 
VISIONS AND DREAMS 

Painless Visions 

Unsought Stress Visions 

Sought Visions 
SHAMANS . 

Contests 

Legerdemain 

Invulnerability 

Charming Game . 

War Shamans 

Wraps-up-his-tail 

Miscellaneous . 
THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE 
SOULS; GHOSTS; HEREAFTER 
SPECIAL MEDICINE OBJECTS 

Medicine Rocks .... 

Bundles 

Hillside's Account of the Arrow Bundle 
Flat-head-woman's Arrow Bundle 
Flat-head-woman's Tale 

Painted Tipis 

Shields 

The Tale of Magpie's Shield 

Various Medicine Objects 

MAGIC 

OFFERINGS AND PRAYERS 
TABOOS 

MISCELLANEOUS DATA 
APPENDIX .... 

The Five Brothers 



Page. 
313 
315 
323 
325 
330 
332 
344 
344 
351 
353 
354 
359 
368 
372 
373 
380 
385 
385 
391 
391 
394 
395 
401 
402 
409 
418. 
424 
426 
433 
434 
438 
438 



311 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
Text Figures. 



1. Medicine Rock with Offerings 

2. Medicine Rock with Offerings 

3. Magpie's Shield . 

4. Wolf-lies-down's Shield 

5. Shield Covers 

6. Buffalo-hide Shield 

7. War Medicine 



Page. 
3^6 
387 
405 
405 
405 
406 
419 



312 



PREFACE. 

Religious beliefs penetrate practically every phase of Crow culture, 
and accordingly considerable information on this topic is sprinkled 
through a number of previous publications dealing with this tribe, 
notably those devoted to the description of ceremonial activities. In 
the present paper, I attempt to expound those Crow conceptions that 
would naturally be looked for under the caption of "Religion" and in 
the interests of clearness, I have sometimes drawn on material already 
in print. 

How fruitful comparative researches in this field are likely to be, is 
suggested by a preliminary essay on the guardian spirit and vision con- 
cept of the area, by Mrs. Ruth Benedict, which is to appear in the 
"American Anthropologist" and which I have had the pleasure of read- 
ing in typescript. Naturally comparison cannot logically stop at the 
more or less artificial boundaries involved in the delimitation of culture 
areas. The student of the Plains is led imperceptibly to consider condi- 
tions in the Woodland area as well, and it would be odd if the undoubted 
ceremonial connections between the Plains and the Southwest were 
wholly unaccompanied by corresponding resemblances in the subjective 
counterpart of ritual. However, though keenly interested in comparative 
investigations of this type, I have in the present paper confined myself 
almost entirely to offering some additional raw data to my colleagues. 

The material was not gathered during a single visit specially devoted 
to the subject here dealt with, but at various times during my Crow field- 
trips, ranging from 1907 to 1916. Probably more information was ob- 
tained from Gray-bull than from any one other native authority, and 
the sum-total of the statements attributed to him furnishes a fair 
conception of the religious attitude of a Crow Indian ranking high, 
though not among the very highest, in public esteem and entering fully 
into the religious life of his people without functioning as a religious 
leader. In that sense his career is more typical than that of personalities 
like Medicine-crow, Big-ox, or Lone-tree, from and about whom, how- 
ever, I have secured as much information as I could. 

Robert H. Lowie. 
January, 1922. 



313 



SUPERNATURAL BEINGS. 

The Siouan term that has become best known as an equivalent of 
the Algonkian manito is the Dakota wakg. Variants of this stem, such 
as wakanda, wakandagi, makq, have been reported from Southern 
Siouan tribes. I know of no phonetic equivalent in Crow. On the other 
hand, J. O. Dorsey records another Omaha word for mysterious, viz. 
qube, which is clearly related to the Winnebago qopine, Mandan xopini 1 , 
Hidatsa xupi or maxupi, Crow maxpe or maxpti. The initial ma in 
Hidatsa and Grow is simply the generic nominal prefix, leaving xp as 
the consonantal complex to be used for comparative purposes. The occur- 
rence of Biloxi xi with the identical connotation is at least suggestive. 2 
Whether it represents a reduced Siouan stem or a radical form, is a 
question to be decided by linguistic specialists. That the Biloxi form 
should recall the Northern Siouan languages rather than those of the 
Omaha group, is not remarkable since this tallies with Swanton's ob- 
servations on the language generally. 

It remains to elucidate the Crow concept by some concrete examples 
of the application of its linguistic correlate. So far as I know, the Crow 
never refer to the Supreme Being by a term corresponding to the Dakota 
Waka-tafika (Great Mystery). The concept of God with which they 
have been familiarized by missionaries is rendered ak'-bfitdt-dh, He-who- 
every thing-made ; and the aboriginal notion that most closely resembles 
that of Christianity is covered by terms not involving the stem maxpe 
at all, viz., by the words Isd'kawudte (Old-Man-Coyote) and Ax 7 ace 
(Sun). This, of course, does not mean that Old-Man-Coyote and the 
Sun are not regarded as maxpe; I am convinced that they are. How- 
ever, it indicates that the Crow are charier of using the term than the 
Dakota. They apply it, so far as I can see, not to designate particular 
individualized supernatural beings, but to convey the idea that a person 
or object is possessed of those qualities transcending the ordinary which 
are summarized by the generic word maxpe. This, then, is an abstract 
notion to which concrete experiences are or are not assimilated. The 
man who superintended the driving of deer into a corral is thus described 
in a text: ak'did batst rdk maxpd'-tseruk, "The one who did it- was a 
maxpti man, it is said." In a myth a woman who has transformed herself 
into a bear is pursuing her sister and brothers. A magical obstacle is 
created to delay her. But : maxpl-racen ik' uctsi'-tseruk, "She was maxpti , 

'I also recorded a Mandan stem maxim a. 

? J. O. Dorsey, "A Study of Siouan Cults" (Eleventh Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology, 
Washington, 1894), 366 f.; J. O. Dorsey and John R. Swanton, "A Dictionary of the Biloxi and Ofo 
Languages" (Bulletin 47, Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, 1912), 221. 



316 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

that is why she got out, it is said." Old-Woman's-Grandchild, the hero 
who conquers all sorts of monsters, is of course maxpe; his adoptive 
grandmother, who is often identified with the witch Hicictawio, is 
specifically described as "also maxpV (ku maxpi a rdk'). 

The stem appears nominally without the prefix in the form xapiri(d) 
e.g., xapiri-ice, medicine-case. The suffix I interpret as the stem did, 
to make, to cause. Generally possessive pronouns are prefixed and the 
medial p becomes a sonant. Thus, we get such combinations as, nax- 
pitse idxbiridc, the bear is his medicine; bidxbiridc dida, take that medi- 
cine of mine. This noun designates any tangible object regarded with 
special veneration, e.g., the feather derived from a vision and insuring 
safety in battle. 

Altogether the Crow concepts correspond to the Hidatsa equivalents, 
xupi, maxupi, as defined by Matthews, who writes them hopd, mahopd. 
The former means "to be mysterious; sacred, to have curative powers, to 
possess charm, incomprehensible, spiritual. Same as Dakota wakan, 
but signifies also the power of curing diseases." The noun is rendered 
"medicine, charm, spell." 1 

Of recent years the question has been broached whether the manitou 
concept may not be completely merged in that of animism. That is to 
say, the sacredness of maxpe persons or objects is ascribed solely to the 
connection they have had with spirits. 2 Thus, Dr. Radin quite cate- 
gorically states that the Winnebago and Ojibway apply their respective 
terms for 'mysterious' invariably "to definite spirits, not necessarily 
definite in shape,"; and he evidently regards this statement as of uni- 
versal validity, at least in North America. A peculiarly shaped object, 
he argues, receives offerings because it belongs to a spirit or is a spirit's 
dwelling-place; an arrow possesses specific virtues because it is a spirit 
transformed or a spirit's abode; and so forth. 

This point of view does not appear to me to be borne out by the 
Crow data. It is true that in Crow theory almost all 'medicine' objects 
are derived from a vision, that is to say, from a spiritual visitant. But 
this spirit is frequently not 'definite' in any ordinary sense of the term. 
That is, it is not one of a series of supernatural beings definitely con- 
ceived by the Indian before his vision, but merely a personified cause 
of the visionary's subjective experiences. This is why the Crow who has 



Washington Matthews, "Ethnography and Philology of the Hidatsa Indians" (Miscellaneous 
Publications, United Stales Geological and Geographical Survey, no. 7, Washington, 1877), 47 seq., 149, 
184. 

2 Paul Radin, "Religion of the North American Indians" (Journal of American Folk-Lore, vol. 27, 
1914), 344-351. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 317 

prayed for a blessing to the Sun may receive a revelation from a quite 
different being. For the same reason he differentiates between dream 
experiences of two different types, — the ordinary dreams without religi- 
ous significance, and the dreams that are reckoned the full equivalent of 
visions. Evidently the difference can only rest on a difference in sub- 
jective reaction; one experience thrills and thereby convinces the be- 
holder that he is in communication with the supernatural, the other does 
not. 

Secondly, the application of the term maxpe suggests that it is 
primarily an expression of power transcending the ordinary. The bear- 
woman of the myth is maxpe because she has power to transform herself 
into a bear, to extricate herself from difficult positions, etc. There is no 
other way to account for such activities than to assume that she has some 
of that supernatural attribute by which such results are effected. But 
there is no suggestion that she ever acquired her powers from a definite 
spirit. This, however, merely brings us to the question, "What is a 
spirit?" And the only empirical answer possible seems to be that the 
maxpe power is the generic principle of which spirits are the personified 
concrete manifestations. What makes it possible to group together so 
heterogeneous an assemblage of beings as the Sun, the Thunderbird, the 
mythical Dwarf, and a hundred and one others who may appear in 
visions is that they possess maxpe power and are able to transfer it: 
this and this alone is the badge of their divinity. 

Finally, the psychological processes assumed towards the same 
tangible 'medicine' object must be supposed to vary with different 
persons using it. The original visionary may invest it with an air of 
sacredness because he has received it from a spiritual visitant. But to 
his fellow-tribesmen who have not shared the experience demonstration of 
its genuinely sacred character lies in success. If the medicine was given 
to insure safety in battle and the owner emerges unscathed from hostile 
encounters; if it was granted for the acquisition of wealth and the bene- 
ficiary secures an abundance of horses: then others will seek participa- 
tion in the benefits of the vision by purchase and will ordinarily obtain 
copies of the medicine with instructions as to its use and relevant taboos. 
Now it is inconceivable that in such cases, which were exceedingly 
numerous, the ultimate medicine owner should retain the attitude of 
mind of the original visionary. To all intents and purposes the medicine 
becomes in his consciousness a charm or fetish devoid of definite spiritu- 
ality. He may press his medicine to his breast and utter a prayer for 
long life and happiness, but even if there be a transitory personification 



318 Anthropological Papers American- Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

of the object there is no individualization; the same prayer would be 
mumbled to any one of a thousand other medicine objects. And as an 
object originally bestowed in a vision may be completely divorced in 
consciousness from its pristine animistic associations, so I am convinced 
that objects, such as rocks (p. 385), are invested with the maxpe quality 
without regard to their being the seat or transformed essence of a spirit. 
At all events, the burden of the proof rests upon those who in the absence 
of evidence insist on an animistic basis for the maxpe concept. 

From the variability of individual visionary experiences it follows 
that the number of supernatural beings is indefinite ; and as pointed out 
above, the character of these beings is frequently ill-defined. Never- 
theless, certain natural phenomena and mythological personages lend at 
least their names to the spirits that figure in religious belief and practice. 
It would be vain to attempt an hierarchical systematization of these 
'deities.' The Crow have no priestly caste and there has been little 
attempt to standardize popular conceptions. Above all, we must 
beware of identifying the results of such ratiocination with the spontane- 
ous reactions of the individual's religious consciousness. In the latter the 
feather granted in a vision and insuring to its possessor longevity or 
wealth looms larger, I am convinced, than any of the cosmic forces, no 
matter how important these may be in philosophic speculation. In 
other words, the Crow seem to me to be essentially individualists in 
religion. Not that a common traditional basis of religious conceptions 
is lacking; but the relative value assigned to specific elements of this 
chaotic complex varies with individual experiences. 

A partial exception may be made in favor of the Sun. I do not mean 
that a person who has received a revelation from the Thunder will sub- 
ordinate his patron to the Sun in his own religious life. But probably 
a majority of the Crow looked in the first instance for a revelation from 
the Sun and certain important ritualistic phenomena are predominantly, 
if not exclusively, associated with solar worship. Thus, the oaths sworn 
to establish a claim to disputed war honors were addressed to the Sun; 
to him were offered the skins of albino buffalo ; and at least preferentially 
the sweatlodge seems to have been conceived as a prayer to the Sun. 

The Sun, then, approaches as closely as any Crow deity to our con- 
cept of a Supreme Being. Nevertheless, his character is singularly ill- 
defined, and if we have recourse to mythological evidence we merely 
have confusion worse confounded. For one thing, there is marked dis- 
crepancy of opinion as to the identity of the Sun and Old-Man-Coyote. 
There is at least a strong tendency to regard them as one and the same, 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 319 

yet in his cosmogonic accounts Medicine-crow, one of my most conserva- 
tive informants, constantly vacillated as to the identification. 1 On the 
other hand, White-arm went so far as to say that the Sun was regularly 
supplicated in prayer, while Old-Man-Coyote never was; while One-blue- 
bead regarded Old-Man-Coyote as the creator of everything and the 
equivalent of Ak'-batdt-did (God), but said that the Sun was distinct 
(cidrdW). 

I am inclined to take the position that we are here confronted with 
the coalescence of two originally distinct conceptions. The Sun, judging 
from our knowledge of other tribes, must have been an ancient constitu- 
ent of aboriginal religion. Similarly, the culture-hero and trickster 
concept as exemplified in the character of Old-Man-Coyote is of great 
antiquity but has rather literary and philosophical than religious sig- 
nificance. He is the deus ex machina, to whom the Crow almost auto- 
matically attribute the origin of most tribal institutions. This aspect of 
his activities is at least not irreconcilable with the less definite notions the 
Crow may be assumed to have had of the Sun. It may have been the 
desire to give greater definiteness to their conceptions of the foremost of 
their supernatural beings that led some Crow unconsciously to identify 
the two characters by tacitly ignoring the less dignified phase of Old-Man- 
Coyote. On the other hand, some individualities may be reluctant to 
accept the mythical character as a religious being because of the part he 
plays in folk-literature. It is true that the Sun does not uniformly 
appear either as a benevolent or a superior being, for in the story of 
"The Orphan's Contest with the Sun," 2 he maliciously keeps away game 
from the Indians because of the hero's intimacy with his mistress and is 
worsted in the ensuing conflict. However, in general, the Sun is pic- 
tured as both powerful and benignant and certainly never as a trickster. 

The Sun is always conceived as male and is often addressed as mdsa'- 
ka, paternal uncle, father's clansman. Although the Sun is so frequently 
prayed to, it is remarkable that he so rarely appears in visions. In-the- 
mouth explained this by saying that he (as well as Cirape and Old-Man- 
Coyote) sent the various animals that do appear, but his statement is 
uncorroborated and seemed like an interpretation given at the spur of 
the moment. 

The manner of praying to the Sun and making offerings to him will 
be considered below. As to his creative functions, however, one point 
had best be made in the present connection. Though he (or Old-Man- 



'Lowie, this volume, 14 f. 
"Lowie, this volume, 99. 



320 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Coyote) is commonly identified with Ak'-MVdt-did, he actually does not 
figure in myth as the creator of everything, but only as the creator of the 
Indians and the one who arranges the earth after having birds dive for it. 
Apart from these birds, which while figuring as the Sun's (Old-Man- 
Coyote's) servants are not stated to be his creatures, the Coyote, the 
prototype of the medicine-rocks (bacoritsi'tse) , and the sacred Tobacco 
plant are all expressly described as beings of independent origin. 1 

Old-Man-Coyote, apart from his mythical exploits and pranks, is as 
indefinite a being as the Sun, with whom he is so frequently identified. 
Where he functions religiously, the trickster phase of his dual person- 
ality is wholly lacking. In mythology it is important to note that he is 
not represented as a coyote; indeed, a coyote is repeatedly associated 
with him as a distinct individual. 2 When he transforms himself into 
animal shape, he assumes the form of a wolf, 3 but most commonly he 
appears as a human character and is occasionally called by the usual 
Hidatsa designation of First-worker (Itsf'k" -baric 4 ), which of course has 
no animal suggestions. 

The Moon figures far less frequently than the Sun in religious belief 
and practice. According to one informant, the address misa'ka, father's 
clansman (see above), is shared by this spirit, which would make it of 
male sex, but according to Gray-bull, whose opinion is borne out by the 
weight of other evidence, the proper address is masa'Mare, grandmother. 
It also appears as a man in one of the versions of the Grandson myth, 5 
however the preponderance of evidence is to the effect that it is conceived 
as female. There is said to be an old woman in the moon and a pole with 
meat hanging from it. In a tale which is essentially the account of a 
vision and might in some measure reflect actual experiences of this type, 
the Moon appears as a woman of plain dress and wearing an elkskin robe; 
in another story she is an old woman dwelling near the Sun. 6 In a nar- 
rative accounting for the origin of the sacred doll employed in the sun 
dance, the Moon woman, dressed in an elk robe, presents the first doll- 
maker with this holy image, and the doll is said to represent the Moon. 7 
Gray-bull's statements are entitled to special consideration on this 
subject, since he had a brass representation of the New-Moon for one of 
his medicines and occasionally made smoke offerings to the Full-Moon 



'Lowie, this volume 14 f. 

2 See this volume, 15, 17 seq. 

Hbid., 31, 38. 

4 The Hidatsa equivalent is Itsi'kawa'hiric. 

6 Lowie, this volume, 52. 

Hbid., 187, 157. 

'Lowie, this series, vol. 1<>, 14. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 321 

and prayed to her. When he obtained his medicine he was told that the 
Moon was an old woman; he says that Old-Man-Coyote when visiting 
the Crow 1 told them the Moon was their grandmother. Gray-bull in a 
dream once saw an old woman who gave him a song, and he identifies 
her with the Moon. Old-dog told me about an old man who had a vision 
of the New-Moon, cut out a crescent-shaped hide medicine for himself 
and captured four hundred Dakota horses in consequence. 

Of the stars the Morningstar (i'g'e-rhxe) and the Dipper have 
religious significance. Mythologically Old-Woman's-Grandson is the 
Sun's son, and after conquering various monsters infesting the earth he 
returns to the sky to become the Morningstar. 2 A fair number of Indians 
stated that Grandson was regularly invoked by them. Thus, Little- 
rump said that people prayed to him in time of war and erected sweat- 
lodges in his honor. According to Old-dog, the Crow were still praying 
to him in 1913. Others denied that Grandson was ever addressed in 
supplication. This discrepancy is readily intelligible if we assume that 
some informants simply looked upon Grandson as the hero of a folk-tale 
without paying much attention to his ultimate actual transformation; 
while with others the identification of the Morningstar with the ogre- 
killer and his relationship tothe Sun were in the foreground of conscious- 
ness. Assuming the former attitude, they would see no more reason for 
deifying Grandson than other mythic heroes; in the latter case, however, 
he might actually acquire an important position in the religious domain. 
On the other hand, the identification with stars of the twin heroes, 
Spring-boy and Curtain-boy, 3 in one version of their myth has remained 
barren of any religious consequences. 

In mythology the Morningstar also appears without any suggestion 
of affinity with Old-Woman's-Grandson. It is further noteworthy that 
in two of these tales he is worsted by human heroes who have received 
assistance from other supernatural powers. 4 

As a characteristic sample of inconsistency may be cited the con- 
ception of one informant that Sun, Moon, and Morningstar were enemies 
and that if one of them adopted an Indian, the others would attempt to 
get him and eat him. Morningstar and Sun, according to this authority, 
once adopted a Crow and a Dakota, respectively. The latter went on 
the warpath but was killed by the Crow, whereupon Morningstar ate 
him. On another occasion Sun and Morningstar bet against each other, 

'Lowie, this volume, 30 f . 

h'bid., 57. 

Hbid., 85. 

4 Lowie, this volume, 102 seq., 200 seq. 



322 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

having various animals play shinney for them with the sunrise and sunset 
as their goals. Sun's players were on the east side and included the 
silver fox, coyote, and jackrabbit; Morningstar's players were in the 
west and included the elk ; white-tail and black-tail deer, and another 
deer species called u u xkace. During the game both Sun and Star caused 
storms; Star made the snow very deep so that the little animals could 
not run. At last the elk, being long-winded, won. 

The sacred Tobacco about which center the performances of the 
Tobacco society, is quite generally identified with the stars, — sometimes 
it would seem with all of them collectively, then again more specifically 
with the Morningstar. 

The Dipper (i'g'e-s&'pud = Seven Stars) is mythologically conceived 
as a group of seven human brothers who had become displeased with their 
terrestrial experiences and decided to change their shape into something 
that should last forever. At the close of their discussion they decide to 
transform themselves into the constellation. 1 The Dipper not infre- 
quently blessed f asters with a vision : Lone-tree was among those adopted 
by them. 2 The Stars often appeared painted in a particular way, hold- 
ing a pipe or with wreaths of medicines, which they turned over to the 
visionary. As a result he would capture Horses and become a chief. 
One Crow said that one of the Seven Stars is blind and that he has the 
greatest power of them all. 

The Four Winds are mentioned as recipients of smoke offerings but 
play a minor part. On the other hand, the Thunder (sud) is important 
both mythologically and religiously. As usual, he is identified with the 
eagle (perhaps more commonly with the bald-headed eagle) . In myth he 
is represented as the enemy of a water-monster, which destroys his young 
but is overcome with the aid of an expert hunter. 3 Various Indians have 
been adopted by the Thunder, among them Lone-tree and Big-ox, both 
of whom were still alive in 1911. 

Another mythic personage who appeared in visions is the uniformly 
benevolent Dwarf, who, in spite of his diminutive stature is represented 
as very powerful physically. 4 

In addition to the mainly cosmic beings described above there are 
the host of spirits — mostly in beast or bird shape — who appear in visions 
and whose characteristics will appear more clearly from the account in 
the following section. 

Hbid., 126,210, 211. 
2 This series, vol. 16, 41. 
3 This volume, 144 seq. 
Hbid., 165, 171 seq. 



VISIONS AND DREAMS. 

The importance of visions in the life of the Crow can hardly be 
overestimated. Not only the general course of sacred ceremonies but 
even such details as particular songs or specific methods of painting are 
traced to visions. Through them it was possible to rise from abject 
poverty to affluence and social prestige. Even war parties were, at 
least in theory, wholly dependent on them, for a man organized one only 
when prompted by a vision or when dispatched by another man who had 
received such a supernatural communication. 1 Since success in life was 
conceived as the result of these revelations, probably all men tried to 
secure a vision, though many of them failed. Conversely, lack of success 
was attributed to lack of visions. "All who had visions," said Little- 
rump, "were well-to-do; I was to be poor (watsicik'), that is why I had 
no visions." However, through the transferability of medicine power it 
became possible for people not blessed with visions to participate in the 
benefits accruing from such experiences. 

The native term for 'having a vision' is bad l ri, which also means 'to 
dream.' One informant made a linguistic distinction to correspond to the 
conceptual one. A common dream, he stated, is bare-rdmmacire; a 
vision or dream with visionary import, bare-watiWe. Although I cannot 
analyze the second portion of the former term, it is clearly for the most 
part identical with the word for vision; and my impression is that in 
ordinary intercourse no verbal differentiation occurs, though conceptu- 
ally the distinction is rigidly maintained. 

There were various methods of inducing visions. Gray-bull re- 
counted the following: — 

(1) Some went to the mountains and fasted there. These men 
would generally dream of guns, coups, and horses. 

(2) Some dreamt in their lodges. These usually became rich, ac- 
quiring plenty of horses. 

(3) Others, usually poor people, would fall asleep somewhere when 
very tired and get a vision. 

(4) Some fasted at the Tobacco garden. 

(5) The Whistler got a vision at the Sun dance; so did those 
participants in the ceremony who suspended themselves from poles. 1 

(6) A man might drag a buffalo or bear. skull fastened to the pierced 
skin of his back; or would lead around a horse similarly secured to his 
body. 



'Lowie, this series, vol. 9, 232. 
2 Lowie, this series, vol. 16, 44 f. 



323 



324 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV ; 

Gray-bull's enumeration is corroborated and supplemented by the 
following statements secured from Scratches-face: — 

Some had dreams while out lost in a storm at night or under similar circumstances. 
In these dreams beings would come to them while they were not asleep and showed 
them what kind of medicine to have. Others, having lost a sister or brother or some 
other close relative, would chop off a finger and go to the mountains to have dreams. 
All this comes from Old-Woman's-Grandson. In their dreams they would see a bird 
or some other animal transformed into a man who had painted his face and tied 
certain feathers to his head apd would tell the visionary to imitate him. Those who 
herded horses would stay out at night with their herd and sometimes had dreams of 
horses. Then they went out to the enemy and brought back so many head of horses. 
In their vision they would see a horse turn into a man, who would talk to the dreamer. 
First the visionary would see a man who showed him some medicine, then the visitant 
would turn into an animal. Those who dreamt of a bear were not shot in battles, 
or even if they were shot, the arrows or bullets would fall to the ground. Badger 
dreams are the same. I know of two men who dreamt of a badger. One of them would 
not eat the young of any animal. I saw the other deliberately shoot himself in the 
breast, but the bullet fell on the ground and he was not killed. Sometimes people 
dreamt of stones or rocks; these would be like the bear and badger dreamers. Some- 
times the bear was thought to be a real bear, sometimes he would come out of the 
clouds. These were larger than real bears, I don't know what they were. Old- 
Woman's-Grandson told all the animals to help the people of the earth, and that is 
why they appeared in these dreams. The animals gave power to these Indians. 

Scratches-face's views on Old-Woman's-Grandson were shared by 
some other informants, but not by all (see p. 321). It will be noted that 
he assigns a specific character to visions of bears, badgers, and rocks, to 
wit, that of bestowing immunity to missiles. 

Suspension from a pole after the fashion observed at the time of the 
Sun dance was also practised on other occasions, but perhaps less fre- 
quently than other forms of self-torture. Bear-crane described the ex- 
peiience of a visionary, Red-bear, who used this method. He took a 
stick, went up into the mountains, planted his stick into the ground and 
tied a rope to it. In the morning he painted himself with white clay, 
cut his breast, inserted a stick, attached the rope to it, and ran round 
the post all day. At night he tore out the skin and slept on the mountain, 
dreaming that he was a chief. He returned to the Crow and announced 
his vision. He had dreamt of an enemy whom he had slain and scalped. 
He had his wife make moccasins and set out as a leader of a war party, 
consummating his vision. 

In the various ways of gaining supernatural favor may be recognized 
three main types: the visionary may receive a revelation without seeking 
one or enduring any hardship whatsoever; he may be visited by super- 
natural beings in times of difficulty without a deliberate courting of 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 325 

them; and he may go in quest of a vision, generally subjecting himself to 
suffering in order to arouse their commiseration and thus obtain a revela- 
tion. 

Painless Visions. 
Men who received unsought supernatural communications of im- 
portance without being placed in conditions of stress were relatively few 
in number and were regarded as remarkably fortunate since they escaped 
the necessity of torturing themselves. In such cases the Crow use the 
expression bawaivd'tek' (1st person: ba-wawi'tawcik') , he gets something 
without working. One-blue-bead offers the best example of this type of 
vision, and his narrative follows : — 

When I was a boy I was herding horses. I took them to the water. This was on a 
flat. I lay down and fell asleep. I saw something mysterious (maxpe hawakak'). 
In those days if Indians wanted anything they had to hunt for it. When I got this, I 
struck first coups. When I saw the camp of the enemy, I tied my feather to the back 
of my head, and then captured and owned horses. 

When I had driven my horses to the water and they were grazing, I fell asleep. 
I saw a person on a white-maned buckskin horse; his face was painted red, also there 
were slanting lines from the eyes down. His forehead was red. He had a buckskin 
shirt. I saw the feather of the tsirdxdi-pcire (a species of chicken-hawk) tied to one of 
his shoulders. He was like a Crow dressed for battle. I heard a voice saying, "Chief 
Chicken-hawk is coming from there now." He came riding a dark bay. His horse's 
tail was wrapped. This is the name I gave Jim Carpenter's little girl. Some time 
later I heard the words "Chicken-hawk woman" and gave this name to my grand- 
daughter. 

This is my principal medicine. I am telling the truth. This is a fine day. You 
(R. H. L.) will have good luck. 

Other people have to torture themselves; I never cut myself. My only marks 
were those of arrows in battle. I never had to ask any one else for medicine like other 
men. Many people had no vision. These gave lots of property to the visionary and 
might get a vision through him. Some get a vision even in their own tipi. Somehow, 
I don't know how, they tell a vision from an ordinary dream. A common dream 
bare rammacire) and medicine dream or vision {bare wacVre) are quite different. 

My medicine was good for war. I took it with me on the warpath. When I 
saw the enemy, I sang my song and tied it to my back. This is my song: — 

ml rakakam, bowik. 

I am a bird, I am coming. 

When at home I stored my medicine; in dancing and sham battles, I took it out. 
I never gave it to anyone else. Just lately I made one for Andrew Wallace. He asked 
me for one. I saw no use for it as we have no more wars, but I gave it to him so that 
he might have good luck in owning horses. 

My medicine forbids me to make myself bleed, for example to cut off my fingers; 
and if meat has blood on it, I won't eat it. At the time of my vision I was told not to 
eat blood, and not to make myself bleed. 



326 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

When I was a boy, I was poor. I saw war parties come back with leaders in front 
and having a procession. I used to envy them and made up my mind to fast and 
become like them. When I saw the vision I got what I had longed for. I always was 
in something good (some good war deed). I killed eight enemies. 

Young men went out to seek visions of their own accord. Before going they 
swam, took a sweatbath, and rubbed themselves all over with sagebrush. Before 
sunrise they went out, taking sage and ground-cedar for their bedding, for all the 
animals liked these plants. When they came back from their fast, they had a sweat- 
lodge made and told their vision. Unless a large sudatory was seen in the vision, a 
small one was used. Visionaries might announce their vision to famous men either 
in the sweatlodge or at a feast. 

I have heard some say, "I had a vision this way, but I hear I have been fooled." 
Some can tell beforehand when they are going to die. They say, "My father is going 
to take me back," then they die soon after. The only thing I prayed to specially 
was my feather. I might pray to the Sun any time. 

On another occasion this informant gave a slightly different account, 
making his visitant appear as a hawk, but since he represents himself 
as awake at the time he was probably referring to another vision from 
the same source. The hawk would sing songs, fly up, and do various 
things. It did not give One-blue-bead any objects, but he noted the 
songs and actions of the bird. Afterwards he struck three coups, this 
is what the hawk gave him. During another interview One-blue-bead 
spoke of the bird as having changed itself into a young man mounted 
on a cream buckskin horse with a bird of its own kind at the back of his 
head. 

One-blue-bead's account touches on a number of vital points. In 
conformity with other data we may harmonize the human and the bird 
character of his visitant by supposing that he appeared first as a man, 
revealing his identity, however, by the hawk feather and in vanishing 
assumed bird shape. That One-blue-bead adopted the feather seen as a 
tangible representative of his revelation, is highly characteristic, so is the 
tendency to confer a name on children based on one's visionary experi- 
ences. Equally significant is the contrast between his poverty and lack 
of prominence before the vision and his later martial success and conse- 
quent social distinction. The imposition of taboos, often of a quite 
fanciful character, such as that against eating blood, is extremely com- 
mon in visions; in fact, practically all such regulations are traced to in- 
structions received under such circumstances. Finally, may be noted the 
expression 'my father' as applied to the visitant. It is generally under- 
stood that a spirit appearing to a visionary adopts him as his child ; the 
standard formula being, "di bartik' bawikf "You (obj.) my child I will 
make." Hence the constant use of parent and child terms of relation- 
ship in the myths dealing with supernatural patrons. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 327 

Arm-round-the-neck had twice attempted to gain a vision by not 
drinking water, but failed. However, he was fortunate in having 'dreams' 
while sleeping. I cite his remarks practically verbatim but slightly re- 
arranged so as to bring together statements bearing on the same ex- 
perience. 

I had dreams while sleeping. I saw a bear and a horse two different times; also a 
bird. The bear I saw was singing to some people; some of them fell down while he 
was singing, and he jumped on them. He held his arm towards the people while sing- 
ing and when he was done the trees and brush in front of him fell down. He started 
toward the people and some fell down. He said, "Of everything I shall have plenty." 
Later I achieved much in battles. I saw his face paint and used it. I also made a 
cap of bearskin and used it. Later I sold it to a' man, who paid me four kinds of 
prcperty, among them a woman, for it. The cap was frcm the head of a bear with 
the ears and was decorated with a horse tail in the rear. The buyer gave me a blanket, 
earrings, a Navajo breechcloth, and a girl never previously married. My mother's 
brother had the bear for his medicine and made me a bearclaw necklace; that may 
have been the reason for my dream. I like a bear when I see one, but if I wanted the 
hide I should kill him; I killed a bear in order to make my cap. 

I saw the horses singing; they did not lie to me. I dreamt someone was kicking 
my foot and there were horses all round me with ropes to their necks and fastened to 
my body. I heard someone say, "Wherever you go, you shall have horses." Ever 
since then I have had horses. I think this dream was given me by dogs. I was walk- 
ing, followed by several dogs. I lay down under a tree and fell asleep, with the dogs 
lying round me about the tent. So I thought they took pity on me and gave me 
horses. 

I saw a bird singing. I saw a man driving a herd of horses with this bird tied to 
his head and singing. These were the words of his song: — 

com barerak, itsire itsem be wik'. 

Wherever I go, horse a good one I shall have. 

The man was riding a pinto horse. I heard someone say to me, "When he does that, 
he brings good horses." I don't know where this dream came from. 

Another way of getting visions is to go out hunting and have dreams, but those 
obtained from thirsting are the strongest: the men who fasted became chiefs and 
were lucky at everything. 

Arm-round-the-neck's narrative is interesting for several reasons. 
For one thing, it expresses the belief that ordinary dogs possess the 
power of granting a vision. Secondly, we find a definite rejection of 
quasi-totemic taboos inasmuch as Arm-round-the-neck did not scruple 
to kill bears. On this point the attitude of the natives varies somewhat, 
but all agreed that no man who had dreamt of buffalo would for that 
reason refrain from killing or eating them. Finally, the transfer, as it 
were, of the bear medicine from a clansman is noteworthy, since in other 
cases medicines are known to have descended from father to son. 



328 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Old-dog had never gone out to fast but had dreamt while sleeping 
in his tent. He dreamt of the Tobacco. Another dream, however, is 
indirectly derived from a vision. His brother had fasted and seen a 
little axiaxtpe (kind of buzzard?), which appeared in human guise, 
painted his face, and sang against the enemy. He gave Old-dog his 
medicine power with four feathers of this bird, and Old-dog subsequently 
dreamt of taking a gun from the enemy and striking him. He attributes 
the dream to his brother's medicine. Thereafter, when he saw the enemy, 
my informant painted his face, tied the feathers to his head, sang towards 
the enemy, and would take a gun or strike a first coup. 

Young-crane told of a man named He-calls-fat (irdpi'tsec) who had 
been visited by the Dipper while awake and sitting down. He would 
send out captains of war parties and bid them bring horses and other 
booty. The Seven Stars told him they would take him back when he was 
going to die. He told his people he had to die soon and it came true. 

Bull-all-the-time, who secured a martial vision through torture and 
fasting, was also blessed with another for doctoring while he was 
asleep in his tipi. He saw a horse fastened to a rope, which was length- 
ened up to him. He heard a person sing. The horse was a sign that my 
informant would get horses as fees for his cures. He was told that if 
anyone fell sick he was to doctor him. He saw an old man decorated 
with red paint and holding a pipe in his hand. This man was standing 
over the recumbent patient and blew through a pipestem over him. The 
sick man rose and then sat down. Bull-all-the-time saw all the sickness 
come out of the patient's blood and saw him get well. Bull-all-the-time 
showed me the pipestem he had dreamt of; it had a horse's track incised 
near one end. 

Gray-bull recounted the following as an experience of his grand- 
father's while awake in his tent : — 

A white-headed bird sat at the door, looked round and hopped inside to the side 
of the lodge opposite the visionary, whose wife was away at the time. My grandfather 
looked at the bird, which merely sat there. He looked again, and it had turned into a 
man with painted face and on his head was a bird of the kind seen before. He sang a 
song and at its close he said, "I'll come tomorrow and see you again with my wife. 
You have seen what I wanted you to see. I was going to let you see many things, 
but your wife is coming." When he had said this, he was a bird once more and went 
out. My grandfather went after him and saw him flying up the river. His wife got 
to the tent. She had seen the bird. When she had brought in the firewood, she asked 
her husband, "What is that bird I saw coming out of the tent? What is it?" "I 
don't know." 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 329 

The next day he went for horses. When he returned, his wife was looking for 
wood. The people were going to camp there for four days. The woman cooked. He 
ate and told his wife to get three or four packs of wood so she might stay away longer. 
She went for the wood. He lay on his bed and watched the door. A bird came in and 
hopped where he sat and another followed. Both sat on the other side of the tipi and 
looked somewhere. One turned into a man, the other into a woman. The man said 
to the woman: "Give one song to my child." "All right." My grandfather sat up, 
and the woman sang. When she had finished, the man said to my grandfather, "Look 
at me." He did. His face was painted as before and a bird was tied to his head. "I 
have given you one song already, that is my only song. Whenever I want to use this 
bird on my head, I let a woman tie it and think at the same time that the enemy can- 
not shoot me." The woman said: "I have plenty of things and horses, and whenever 
I meet enemies they are easily captured. This is all." They changed into birds 
again, hopped to the door and went out. Until then my grandfather had done nothing 
in war and his joking relatives made fun of him. He had not even gone out with war 
parties. 

Some time after this my grandfather saw someone kill one of these birds and asked 
the slayer to give him the body. He cut off its head and tail, also the wing bone for a 
whistle, and took them home with him. He called in all the chiefs. When all were in, 
his wife roasted some ribs and when they were through eating he made them smoke. 
One asked what this was for. He asked them to tell him how they dreamt and got 
medicines. All told how they had fasted and dreamt. When all had had their say, 
he said he was going to make his medicine, but found out that it was not good, that is, 
not like an} r they had told. The chiefs asked him to tell about it. He told them that 
into his very tent two birds had come and shown him something, bidding him make 
whatever he saw. He asked whether they knew anything like that to have been seen 
by a Crow before. They told him to make his medicine, to sew together the head and 
the tail of the bird. When he had done so, he sang the songs the bird-man had sung 
for him, telling his wife to sit and sing with him. After they were through, he told his 
visitors to see how it should turn out. He told all the chiefs he was going to take care 
of the entire tribe thereafter, that was why he made medicine. He gave them more 
to eat; they smoked and went out. The chiefs said to one another, "We'll see how 
it comes out, it is great medicine that he has made." 

It was in the fall of the year. There were about forty enemies in a trench that 
fall. My grandfather came on a white horse, his face painted like that of the man in 
the dream, and the medicine tied to his head. He asked the Crow fighters whether 
anyone had struck a coup, then went to the coulee where were the enemy. He got to 
the bank and went to one of the enemy, who shot my grandfather, singeing his hair. 
He took away a gun from the enemy, laid it down, and went to the next man, who had 
a bow. This one broke the string of his bow. My grandfather took the bow and 
arrow away from him and went back. The people then knew his medicine to be true. 
After that he kept on striking coups and became a chief. He made one bird medicine 
for his son, who also became chief. The birds were real birds, and they themselves 
gave the medicine. The Crow believe the birds themselves have medicine powers. 

It will be seen later that the medicine was subsequently transmitted 
to Gray-bull himself and determined one of his fasting visions (p. 
336). 



330 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

In the foregoing narrative the fact that supernatural powers are 
ascribed to the birds themselves is noteworthy. It tallies with certain 
statements of various informants, e.g., Arm-round-the-neck's comments 
en the vision granted by dogs (p. 327), but is contradicted by others, who 
regard the animals as mere messengers of potent spirits. Presumably 
we here have to reckon with individual differences of interpretation. 
Another feature of importance is the patrilineal transmission of the 
medicine (but compare p. 335). Finally, the pragmatic test of the value 
of a vision is highly characteristic. 

It is clear that some of these painless visions were reckoned on a 
par with those for which suffering was undergone, but this does not 
apply to all cases. For example, Little-rump, who speaks of himself as 
having tried to get visions but failed, did, as a matter of fact, get un- 
sought communications from the Yellow Tobacco, though obviously he 
does not regard them as comparable in worth to those of others, presum- 
ably because in spite of them he has remained poor. He hears the 
Tobacco sing songs. "Some of them I consider sacred. When I hear a 
song and have good luck immediately after that, then I consider the 
song sacred." 

Unsought Stress Visions. 
Another category of visions, though not formally recognized as 
such by the natives, includes experiences not deliberately sought but 
undergone in times of stress or under other conditions out of the ordinary. 
One of Lone-tree's visions may be reckoned of this class since it was ob- 
tained during his flight from the enemy : — 

We went against the Dakota; there were nine of us. I was still young and some- 
one else was captain. I did the scouting every day. We got to the camp but the 
Dakota discovered us and we ran away in different directions, five one way, three 
besides myself another way. The Dakota caught only the former and killed them all. 
The rest, all young boys, got home in safety. Far this side of Bismarck, North 
Dakota, I thought of swimming the Missouri. Just before we got to the river, while 
still among the rocky hills, we saw big heavy clouds presaging a thunderstorm. I bade 
the others seek shelter under rocks, saying, "I'll watch for a while." As I was seated 
on a rock, I watched the hailstorm coming and saw the lightning quite near me. 
When the storm got very close, I thought I should also seek shelter. Before I got 
up I saw a big bird coming down from among the clouds. His color was white and he 
was as large as the white building at the Mission. His head faced south. In descend- 
ing to the ground he made no noise. I saw him plainly. The lightning came from his 
eyes. He sat down on the ground. As soon as he did so, we could see smoke as though 
from an engine. The hailstorm did not come near but left a circle free round the bird 
and me. I watched the eagle going back up into the clouds. He said, "I live up in the 
heavens, I am going to adopt you, that is why I came down. Whatever you ask for, 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 331 

we shall hear you." Each hailstone was as big as a fist. That evening we crossed the 
Missouri. This was the first time I dreamt about him. The second night I heard the 
hailstones calling ore another and saying, "Whatever you shall ask, we shall do it for 
you. I am the High Thunder (sua)." 

Lone-tree got large white beads for a necklace to represent the 
hailstones. 

Three-wolves in referring to Lone-tree's experience added the detail 
that the lightning struck the lake and something came out of it. Then 
Lone-tree saw a taloned bird as large as a tree flying from cloud to cloud 
and saying, "If you shall go to a flat rock, I will see you." Lone-tree 
was afraid to go; nevertheless he considered the Thunder his medicine 
and henceforth carried the head of a bald-headed eagle with him (see 
below, p. 335). When Short-bull offended him, Lone-tree said, "You will 
nearly die this summer." Short-bull was struck by lightning, but was 
not killed. Sometimes Lone-tree would take a big white bead (evidently 
from the necklace mentioned above), put it on a child's head and make 
hail. He could stop a storm and also cause rain. Big-ox had the same 
power. 

Instances of this type of supernatural experience occur repeatedly 
in the myths. For example, a man and his wife reduced to extreme des- 
titution through the husband's failing eyesight are suddenly visited by 
the Moon, who bids them send out young men on a horse raid; the raid 
is successful and the impoverished couple become wealthy. Again, a 
young woman who has been blinded, crippled, and abandoned by her 
husband is doctored by a white-tailed deer and an owl, while the compas- 
sionate brother-in-law who provided her wants till his strength is ex- 
hausted is aided by a snake-man. Similarly, a benevolent dwarf rescues 
from starvation a poor young man and his sweetheart, who have been 
driven away by the camp tyrant. 1 Sometimes the supernatural beings 
are explicitly represented as cognizant of the visionary's distress and 
attempting to relieve it either in person or through a messenger. The 
dwarf's wife chides him for his dilatoriness in succoring the sufferer: 
"'Bring my son soon,' I said, you have done it late, they almost 
died." The snake-man says to his protege: "I pitied you long ago, but 
never reached you." In the legend of Big-iron the hero has been aban- 
doned by his cruel stepfather and a supernatural being in the guise of an 
old man sends mountain-sheep to bring him to his island. 2 



iThis volume, 186, 190, 171. 
Hbid., 291. 



332 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Sought Visions. 

We may now turn to cases in which there was a deliberate quest of 
a revelation. These were probably the most numerous, but by no means 
all attempts to secure visions met with success, as has already been noted. 
Little-rump, e.g., often tried to get a vision but invariably failed. Some- 
times the quest was abandoned from exhaustion or fear. A female in- 
formant, e.g., went out to fast for three days when mourning a deceased 
relative, but left after the second day because she suddenly saw a grave 
she had not previously noticed. Being afraid of the dead, she went off 
before the close of the period set by herself. 

There was no limitation either as to age or sex, so far as seeking a 
vision was concerned. Little boys sometimes fasted, not because their 
parents had urged them but probably because they had listened to others 
talking about visions and desired to try it for themselves. On the other 
hand, middle-aged and even old men would go out fasting. Young girls 
did not seek visions, but when older they might and did. Usually this 
happened when a relative had been killed by the enemy or even died a 
natural death. Thus, Young-crane chopped off a finger joint when her 
first husband was killed and fasted for two days after her daughter's 
decease, though without receiving a revelation. It is true, however, that 
the number of would-be male visionaries was greater than that of the 
women, and that it was commonly adolescent men who were eager to 
get a communication that should enable them to gain martial glory and 
consequent prestige. 

It is noteworthy that according to all informants there was no ex- 
ternal prompting of the youth to undergo the rigors of fasting and 
self-torture : he went out because of the tales heard about the camp-fire 
and because he observed the success of those who had gone and obtained 
revelations. 

The principal methods of inducing a vision have already been enum- 
erated. Doubtless the most usual was to fast and thirst for several days, 
a procedure designated as birictsandud, (not drinking water). The 
would-be visionary generally retired to a lonely peak, theoretically for 
four days, in consonance with the mystic notions clustering about that 
number, possibly in addition chopping off a finger-joint as an offering to 
conciliate the spirits invoked. That these might differ as to identity, 
has already been set forth, though the Sun or Old-Man-Coyote was 
most frequently addressed. The faster was virtually naked, using a 
buffalo skin for a blanket at night. According to Flat-head-woman, he would 
lie on his back with legs stretched out, the arms extended at the sides and 
facing east all night ; his bedding was framed by rocks on both sides. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 333 

Before citing accounts of individual visions it may be well to quote 
some generic remarks by White-arm: — 

Of my contemporaries I take the lead in visionary experiences. Parents did not 
tell children to go out if they were well off. But if they were poor, a boy would decide 
not to remain so but to go out, fast, and thereby come to own property. Strips of 
flesh were cut off and placed on a buffalo chip, and some such prayer as the following 
was addressed to the Sun : — ■ 

kahe, isa'kaxaria, (raising the buffalo chip), bl watseck'atem, mi arakak', 

Hallo, old Old Man, I am poor, me you see, 

ma+itsem baku'. ml' xarie, itsirem bewi, uwut'baraxia burutsiwi, 

something good give me. Me makeold. ahorse maylhave," gun may I take, 

dakce maritbi. ml batsetsi, mi k'ua mi wiraxbaki makurua 

a coup may I strike. I a chief, I without help may I become a person plenty 

(make a living) 

wewi. 

may I have. 

The Sun's name, ax ace, may be used in crying for a vision; in mourning the 
diminutive dxack'at is used. Any name pertaining to a father, father's clansman, or 
grandfather, may be applied to the Sun. The Sun's name may be used in cursing, 
e.g.:— 

ax'ac bako, To the sun I have given him, or (emphatically) : aVac bakace, To 
the Sun I have verily given him. 

If a man wants a horse, he will cut out a piece of his flesh in the shape of a horse- 
shoe. The morning before going out he swims, takes a clean robe, and at daybreak 
goes to the hill selected for fasting. When the sun came up, I made my cut. Some- 
times this is done on the second day. Some stayed out four days. I stayed two days 
or one day. A forked stick is planted the evening before the sacrifice. An old man is 
sought to pray for the young man. He paints the young man with white clay, prays 
to the sun and pierces the taster's breasts or the body near the shoulder parts and 
fastens him to the forked stick. The would-be visionary runs round the stick and the 
old man goes home. When tired, the visionary sits down, then runs round again. 
Some break the flesh, others do not. In the evening, the old man comes and cuts at 
the edge of the dried flesh, then leaves the young man. He shows the dried flesh to the 
Sun and prays anew, while the visionary sleeps there again during the night. Any 
time at night a vision might be seen. First we see a person in a vision or dream, but a 
few days later, perhaps while we are sleeping, the person seen is recognized as some 
particular animal that had changed into a person. Sometimes they found out directly 
through the song. In the song the visitant might say, "I am a snake" (or buffalo, or 
horse, etc.) If a man has a viskn cf a srake, all srakes will be fathers to him. 
Some would pick up a snake after such a vision, saying, "dardke bik';" (I am your 
son), and the snake would not bite him. 

Some were adopted by a bear. While they were asleep at home some one might 
strike the sole of a visionary's foot, then he would awake, make a noise like a bear, 
and a bear's tooth would come out of his mouth. This is one way of knowing the 
species of the animal giving the vision. 

People who have seen a snake, do not kill snakes. I don't know how bear 
visionaries act in this regard. The latter put red paint from the eyes down the face in 
slanting lines and knot their hair to imitate bear's ears, and use a bearskin for a 



334 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

blanket. Bear people when in a trance (kdxutuk) use is k (Joe Cooper says, wild 
parsnip) incense, then they will come to. Strong men catch these entranced ones from 
behind, for they try to bite and act like bears. They may go into a trance whenever 
the sole of their feet or their face is struck. 

Sometimes the Sun himself appeared to the visionary, but mostly animals came. 
These I do not think are related to the Sun at all. When men are praying, the Sun is 
first thought of, but generally other beings appear. After returning from a quest, the 
faster made a sweatlodge and all the famous people were called in,; while they were 
assembled in the sweatlodge the visionary told his vision, and the audience afterwards 
told the other people. Sr ake visionaries are mostly doctors, e.g., Flat-dog; the snake 
tells them how to treat the sick. Some would smell the incense in a vision and thus 
know what weed to use for medicine. 

Some are deceived by visions, go out on the warpath, and get killed, but not many 
are fooled about doctoring. Wraps-up-his-tail slept near Sheridan, had visions, and 
told everyone, yet he was killed. Sometimes everything told in a vision is false; 
perhaps some animal plays the part of another. It never happened that old men 
detected the deceit in a vision and warned the visionary when he told them. They only 
find out from what happens later. 

It is clear that White-arm's final remarks completely corroborate 
Gray-bull's account as to the testing of a vision by the visionary's 
subsequent success. The quasi-totemic attitude ascribed to snake vision- 
aries was certainly not shared by other Indians, as already pointed out. 
My informant's statement regarding the Sun is significant and agrees 
with data secured from some of my most trustworthy authorities. 
That is to say, the Sun as the most dominant single figure in the native 
religious consciousness is supplicated in the first instance, but rarely 
appears. Instead there come other beings "not related" to the Sun, 
which presumably means not dispatched by him but independently 
taking pity on the faster's distress. 

From these general remarks we may now turn to some individual 
accounts. I will begin with Lone-tree, who had other supernatural 
revelations besides the one that came unsought from the Thunder. 

Once I went on a high mountain and cut off a strip of my flesh with a knife. 
When I had fasted for three days and nights I saw the Dipper. It was towards 
morning. The Dipper gave me a little food, sitting down beside me as a man and 
saying he had brought me some food because I was hungry. "What you are eating is 
human flesh," said the Dipper after giving me the food. I did not know it was the 
Dipper, but something at the back of my head was whispering to me, "The man 
giving you food is the Dipper." After he had told me that the food was human I 
could not swallow it but vomited what I had eaten. Then the Dipper rose and 
walked off. I looked and saw his long braided hair hanging down in the back, and 
on the long queue were the Seven Stars. Then I believed that it was the Dipper. 
The next morning I got home. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 335 

During the winter I cut scars on my arms and went into the hills. There was a 
clump of trees and on one of them there was a nest. Not knowing that it belonged 
to the Bald-headed Eagle, I lay down. At night it stormed violently. I slept and 
dreamt I was in a big lodge and saw the Bald-headed Eagle sitting there. I was told 
that the Dakota were my only enemies and that I was to be a captain. It came true 
and I defeated the Dakota about ten times. People said I was the best captain. 

The Bald-headed Eagle of this vision is undoubtedly connected with 
the Thunder (see above). 

Big-ox, one of the most famous shamans of recent times (see p. 344), 
had become feeble-minded when I knew him and only supplied a very 
fragmentary account of his visions : — 

I slept on a mountain and chopped off a joint of my little finger. I saw a bird, 
which made me a chief. The birds sat round me; they had human heads. Five balls 
of different color were in front of me, one of them pure white. I sat there and some of 
the birds vanished without my knowing it until only one sat by me. This last one told 
me I should be a great chief and that he would not forget me. "We shall constantly 
watch you." He repeated this twice. He flew away without my seeing him go. 

I saw the No-drum (birs'xdele) dance in the daytime in the Wolf Mountains. A 
white woman and a white man gave me the vision and a Crow spoke to me in Crow. 
They gave me the stick I carry around, painted yellow and decorated with bells and 
feathers. 

Owing to his latter experience, dating from the period of his senility, 
for which reason no one but himself took it seriously, Big-ox was nick- 
named No-drum in the last years of his life. It is not clear whether he 
underwent any suffering in this case or received his revelation unsought. 

Flat-dog once went out to fast and get a vision. He had his back 
pierced and a horse tied to it, while on the other side he attached a war- 
bonnet to his pierced skin. Towards evening the horse got restless, 
being thirsty, and jerked Flat-dog's skin. Then he pulled out the stick 
to which the horse was tied and freed him. He fell asleep at night, tired 
out with his exertions and as good as dead. He saw a man come to 
him, who said, "Now you will remain alive a long time, you are poor 
now, you will be a person. I'll keep you a person for a long time (dl 
wirdxbike £e-ma-wi-ma'siti)." Flat-dog added: "Today people speak 
of me as old, then I think of this statement. My face was covered, 
nevertheless I saw the person." 

One of Gray-bull's experiences forms an interesting sequel to his 
grandfather's vision (p. 329). Before dying the grandfather had given 
his medicine to Gray-bull's mother, bidding her turn it over to her son 
when he should be a young man. He still had the medicine at the time of 
my interview with him. His narrative follows: — 



336 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

I fasted with this medicine and got a dream. I saw a bird flying over me in a 
circle. It descended and went down into a canyon whistling. On both sides there 
were rocks. The rocks began to shoot at the bird but failed to hit it, so that it came 
out unhurt. It had nothing tied to its head and when I heard shooting from the 
rocks I did not see anything either. The bird had a white head and tail. I did not 
know that I could not be shot till long afterwards. I was never shot. I kept my 
dreams secret, for I was afraid if I told them I might get shot. Once many Piegan 
were lying under a pine tree. One was some distance in front of us. We started out 
toward the Piegan. He shot at me when I was just above him but did not hit me. 
My horse went round as though dizzy and ran off. That night I dreamt and someone 
said to me, "Don't you know that you cannot be shot?" 

The conceptions involved in this vision recall corresponding Hidatsa 
usages by which sacred objects descended from father to son and where 
the blessing of a vision was expected from the spirits associated with the 
paternal bundle. The tenor of the vision, i.e., the appearance of a 
person shot at but remaining unscathed is very common and should be 
compared with Scratches-face's as well as with some legendary experi- 
ences. 1 

The same informant had another experience, which is described 
below: — 

I rose before sunrise, got my horse ready and went to Long-horse, 2 my father's 
clansman, and asked him to help me. So we went out before sunrise. I gave him 
four presents. He painted my body with white clay and sang a song, telling a few of 
his warlike exploits, then he pierced my shoulder with an arrow, inserted a stick and 
tied a horse to it; to the other shoulder he fastened a shield and some other medicine. 
They moved camp that morning. I followed, leading the horse. During the day the 
horse got continually more and more unruly, getting hungry and thirsty. After a 
while I turned to look at him and saw a stripe on one of his legs; had I seen two 
stripes I should have become a greater chief. I stopped there for the night and Long- 
horse came to free the horse and remove the medicine. I did not go back to camp, 
but stayed out and when I slept I dreamt. I saw a gray horse with a stripe on his leg 
standing in the very spot where Long-horse had removed the medicine. Someone 
talked behind me, saying, "This horse belongs to the Dakota." I did not see anyone. 
After this I went to war and captured a gray horse. I struck coups, captured guns, 
and achieved the other deeds of a chief, riding the gray horse. The stripe was a sign 
for striking coups. I named my grandson 'Chief-with-the-gray-horse' (tsicdedxi- 
■watsktsic). 

The most interesting detail in the foregoing narrative is the mode of 
self-torture employed, which exactly parallels one reported for the 
Hidatsa at the time of the Sun dance. 



'See this volume, 184, 271. 
2 A very famous warrior. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 337 

Scratches-face, whose generic account of visions has already been 
cited, recounted the following personal narrative. It was not without 
some difficulty and considerably higher compensation than usual that 
he was prevailed upon to narrate this experience. 

I fasted because three of my brothers {akupe) had been killed, one at Pine Ridge, 
one on the other side of the Bighorn Mountains, one between Bighorn and Pryor. 
When an Indian had an akupe, he could take anything they had and give it away. 
When all of mine were killed, I was alone, had no horses nor anything else. 

I went on a mountain, chopped off a finger joint, and gave it to Old-Woman's- 
Grandson, saying: — 

Karicbapitua, hine warakuk, lwice itsia waku. 

Old-Woman's-Grandson, this I give you, pay good give me. 

I cried out aloud a great deal. I wanted some animal or something else to help me. 
Before chopping my finger off, I held it toward the sky, praying and thus speaking to 
Grandson, "I do not steal nor do any other bad things, and you have known me. 
That is why I'm poor." When I had said this, I chopped off my finger. I cried, say- 
ing, "I am poor, give me a good horse. I want to strike one of the enemies and when I 
go on a good road I want to marry a good-natured woman. I want a tipi to live in 
that I shall own myself." 

I fasted on the mountain near where Joliet now is. I slept one night, the next 
day chopped off my finger, and on the second day, about this time of day, I did not 
know anything then, the blood running from my hand. Far in the night I came to 
again and looked round; it was night and cold. I made a bed out of sagebrush and 
grass; on it I laid logs. When I fainted, I held my hand on my breast on the side I 
had cut; half of my body was all covered with blood. When I got up, I went to my 
bed. My arm ached and I could not sleep. On the third day I got up and sat down. 
I was very thirsty, but thought I should stay there till the following night. On the 
night of the third day I went to bed and tried to sleep but could not because it was too 
cold. Sometimes I heard footsteps as if of a person coming toward me, but looking 
up I saw no one. After a while I went to sleep. While asleep I heard a man clearing 
his throat; also the snort of a horse. I heard someone talking. "What are you doing? 
You wanted him to come. Now he has come." This is what I heard. My feet faced 
east aid my hrad west. I heard someone ccmirg toward me from the west and then 
standing on my right side. I saw men riding on horses, which were prancing round. 
I heard little bells. They got nearer to my side and I faced toward them and looked 
at them. They were not men or horses but shadows of these. One man was riding a 
bobtailed horse and had painted his horse with a lightning mark on all four legs. His 
horse was like fire. There were six of them, the rest were riding grays and blacks. 
The shadows were black. The rider of the bobtailed horse was like fire too. His 
r ar braid reached the ground, the rest of his hair was clipped short. "I will show 
you what you want to see. You have been poor, so I'll give you what you want." 
The rider of th^ bbtail said, "I am going to run." All the trees and everything 
growing around there then turned into men and began shooting at them. They just 
kept on going to the east and I continued watching till they were invisible. The dust 
flew up to the sky. It flew up again on the east side of the horizon, where the riders 
had gone, and there I heard a lot of talking. After a while they got out of there and 
came back. They came and passed behind me. I heard them yelling and whistling. 



338 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

They came and stood in front of me. The rider of the bobtail said to me: "If you 
want to fight all the people on the earth, do as I do and you will be able to fight for 
three or four days and yet not be shot." All the six horsemen started eastward. 
The rider of the bobtail held a spear; it was like fire. They were shooting as before. 
This rider knocked the people down with his spear. The dust flew up to the sky. 
Then followed a hailstorm. The hailstones were as big as my fist and knocked down 
those shooting at the horsemen. I saw them riding around in the storm. This storm 
was the Thunder and helped the six riders; it was caused by a man with wings. 
When I went out with the soldiers against an Indian tribe up north and fought in 
battle, I did just what I had seen in my dream. The fight started at about 8 a.m. 
I was not shot. They killed an enemy; I struck him first. I fasted in the spring when 
eighteen years old. Ever since then I have owned good and fast horses; even today 
I have one. I prayed for a good-natured and hard-working woman; my present wife 
to whom I have been married about thirty years is like that. 

It is not certain whether White-arm's vision came unsought or was 
merely sought without tortures. It is interesting because it embodies the 
reminiscences of a convert to Christianity : — 

I slept near Horn's place. During my sleep I saw a person riding a brown horse 
toward the top of a mountain and singing. He came towards me. I noticed all the 
feathers and other ornaments tied to his horse. The isa'tsise (species of hawk) was 
painted on his horse's neck. I took a wing of this bird and used it for my horse's 
necklace. This person sang a song: — 

maraka, bawaraxe dik'uku. awe wa'kiihe k'ok'. marakd diaw&tsisuk. 

My child, to my song listen. The ground my ear is. My child we love you. 

I joined the Church and now the one who gave me the song is teasing me at night, but 
I won't listen to him. I was under thirty years old when I went out for a vision for the 
first time. I was one of the poorest in the tribe, that's why I went. Some other 
times I went out, but never had a vision. I got the first one without torture, while 
I got no vision out of my later tortures. Before going for a vision a man took a bath, 
put on good clothes, and abstained from sexual intercourse. Bull-all-the-time has a 
bear for his medicine; he is a big shaman. 

Bull-all-the-time has already been mentioned for his doctoring 
vision. In addition he had some fasting experiences, which unfortunately 
were not very fully described by him. 

On the other side of the Musselshell there is a mountain called Buffalo-heart 
(bice-rasec). There I slept and cut my left forearm. They showed me that I should 
become a chief. In my sleep I saw Pryor Gap and beheld a person holding out a 
blanket and making a sign for me to come over. The Indians began to move, and I 
went to the place where I had been called and fasted there. In my sleep I saw a 
person holding out a blanket and making a sign for me to come over. The Indians 
began to move, and I went to the place where I had been called and fasted there. 
In my sleep I saw a person coming with a war party's pipe and at the end of the stem 
was tied human hair in token of a killing. He sang: — 

awe condak awua aworak. 

Country (in) any as I climb and come up. 



1922.] Loivie, Religion of the Crow. 339 

At (?) I fasted and heard a snake rattling in the distance. It came closer. 

It was a rattlesnake and threw something out of its mouth, — yellow paint. I made a 
cloth representation of the snake, painted it with yellow paint and still have it. 

I told other Indians about my visions. 

An interesting experience was described by Hillside: — 
I was about twenty years old, and among the Many Lodges band. Over at 
White Mountain a big buffalo was killed. Its head was cut off and its hide skinned, 
leaving the tail on. I had myself cut in two places on the back and dragged the skull 
outside the camp. The people all saw me. My brother, the same who had made the 
arrow for me, pierced my back. 1 I started early in the morning and traveled all day 
with the skull; when the sun was low I was too weak to drag it any longer. I went to 
the mountain with it, my brother cut it off, and I slept on the skull for a pillow. It 
was raining hard. In my sleep I heard a man say: "Wait, poor fellow, you will eat 
now!" He had the foot of a buffalo on him. On the Pryor side I saw a large crowd 
of people with this person in the lead. When I was asleep, a buffalo came up to me and 
licked me. His hair was gray; this showed that I was to live to be an old man. His 
being leader showed that I was to be a leader of my people. The buffalo snorted while 
licking me. Leaders were supposed to carry good luck for the whole camp. I made a 
buffalo skin to represent my dream. While dragging the skull I was fasting. The 
buffalo was my real visitant; he had transformed himself into a person. On another 
occasion I dragged a skull. Medicine-crow's father told me that he and I were the 
only ones that had dragged a buffalo skull twice. 

Muskrat's narrative derives interest from the fact that it represents 
the religious experiences of a woman : — 

I was a young woman and was pregnant after my husband's death. I was out 
mourning the death of my husband and fell asleep. In my sleep I saw a person come 
up to me who said, "Take and chew that weed, and you'll give birth without suffer- 
ing." I came back and it happened as I was told. The name of the weed is batskklce. 
I used the leaves, boiled them, and drank the infusion. In the same year I went out 
mourning for my brother (bakupe). I had no dream till the fourth time. I had a 
vision of the bickwariicise (buffalo-do-not-eat-it) weed. I was told: "This is better 
and more powerful than the other one." It was for the same purpose, before the 
birth of the child. As to the first weed, I was told never to pull out any myself, except 
when about to use it for medicine. Whenever anyone touches the buffalo-weed, I 
get into a trance (kaxutsek'). The way to get over the trance is to chew some of the 
weed. No one is supposed to touch my face or any part of my body with it. I have a 
horse inside me. Whenever the Bear Song dance is performed, I am forced over to the 
site. One time I was doing some beadwork while the Bear Song dance was going on in 
another part of the camp. I sat down, paying no attention, but it was just as if some 
power forced me to go there. I threw off my blanket. I heard voices, "There's one 
going already." Before I arrived, I was out of my senses, and the tail of a horse came 
out of my mouth. I was married to Bad-man's father at this time. People were 
astonished to see this. They took warts from a horse's leg, made incense therefrom, 
smoked me with it, and thus brought the horse tail back into my body again. Even 

'I saw the scars — R. H. L. For the arrow referred to see p. 391. 



340 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

when children bump against me, this tail will come out. So I always keep some 
horse wart about me. If people with a batsirjpe do not get proper incense in time, they 
die. 

I also got weasel medicine. My. Weasel parents (in the Tobacco society) gave me 
a weasel. There was an old man and his wife known as the Weasels; very few were in 
their chapter. They took the weasel away from me after giving it to me. Then I 
felt grieved, went out fasting, and had a vision of a weasel. I went to the mountains to 
fast, and could not sleep all night. A cloud came up. I went to the rocks for shelter 
and lay down to sleep. A weasel appeared and came on my neck, causing a queer 
feeling. He went into my stomach. I heard the weasel whistling with all his might. 
I woke up and looked round, but saw nothing. The weasel said: "This is what we 
want to give you." Then he gave me a whistle. He sang a song. This is the main 
part of the song: — 

uute fk'uctsiiruk'. ope ik'uctsiwa'tsewik - . 

The weaselsare coming out. The Tobacco I'll make come out. 

Ever since I have had control of the Weasel chapter and through me it has become so 
renowned. Once an old man told me to get up and dance, and I got up and sang the 
song. The weasel warns me against having people strike my kidneys, lest I get into a 
trance thereby. 

Both a horse and a weasel are inside of my body. Only lately I dreamt I owned 
some weasels and soon after a weasel was brought to me. People respect me and take 
care lest something bumps against me. Sometimes I dream of a horse and afterwards 
come to own it. 

When I was out fasting, a gray horse came up to me and went into my stomach. 
He told me he should enter me. After the batsirdpe once gets in, it does not go out. I 
doctor horses if they can't make water. I chew something and put it in their mouth. 
Then they can make water. I use chewing tobacco. Tobacco is one of my main 
medicines, I always have plenty on hand to doctor with. 

I was fasting on a mountain, having heard that a man had slept there. I put 
down new bedding. While I lay there, I saw bald-headed hawks (?) but the eagle got 
ahead of them, jumped towards me, and shook one wing after the other, all in order 
to scare me. He came up to me and scared me. He shook his wing and one feather 
fell out. It was the Tobacco. I use Tobacco as one of my main medicines, as a lini- 
ment; isk is also used as a liniment; incense is made of it. I also d ctor broken bones. 
Some women chop off their fingers when seeking a vision; many women did it. Twice 
I got a vision when staying out only one day; the other times I had to fast for three 
days. 

The Sun is the main thing I prayed to when I went out; but when I lay down to 
sleep I prayed to the ground-cedar and the sagebrush. The ground-cedar is owned by 
the Sun, I don't know who owns the sagebrush. I was fasting once and the Sun told 
me where to go to sleep. I went there and found many medicine-rocks (bacDritsi'tse). 
Thus I got plenty of property. Red paint was given to me at the same time. The 
Sun gave me power to make clouds. When a man leaves his wife, I can charm him 
and make him live with her a long time. 

As is pointed out in my paper on the Tobacco ceremony, the bdtsiripe 
motive was very prominent among the Crow Indians, and Muskrat's 
account of the weasel vision is one of the clearest expositions of what the 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 341 

natives imagine to happen in such cases. Crazy-head, according to 
Young-crane, had a frog for his batsmpe, and in the winter it was heard 
croaking in his throat. The general conception of the bdtsirdpe is ap- 
parently found also among the Menomini. 1 

In studying the Tobacco society I obtained several descriptions of 
revelations, which I will merely summarize here since they have already 
appeared in full form. 

Medicine-crow prayed to the Sun, cutting off a finger joint, and was 
visited by a young man and a young woman, who were identical with the 
Tobacco plant and gave him instructions for the foundation of the 
Strawberry chapter. On another occasion when mourning a comrade 
he saw a crane and was led to substitute a bird of this species for the 
otter formerly carried in the Tobacco planting procession. The crane 
showed him a scalp, and he subsequently killed a Dakota. 

Big-shoulder-blade had a similar adventure with buffalo transformed 
into young men wearing buffalo caps and promising vengeance for the 
death of his brother. In consequence he founded the Buffalo chapter 
and killed an enemy about as old as his brother. 

Sore-tail was very poor and went out to fast. The Sun visited him 
as he was lying on his blanket and said, "I'll send you my messenger." 
He sent the Eagle, who showed him a special kind of lodge and taught 
him a song. In consequence he founded the Eagle chapter and became 
the very richest of all the Crow. Anyone who wanted to go on the war- 
path would consult him and he sent them out with a blue feather on the 
neck. He even sent out a woman with this medicine and she came back 
victorious. 

In 1910 Medicine-crow told me of a vision, which may be connected 
in his mind with the Tobacco society since a strawberry appears, but he 
did not explicitly state that he recognized such an association. His 
account follows: — 

I would pray during any season of the year. Fasting makes men of Indians. At 
this season of the year (summer) I once fasted where there were plenty of skulls; 
on the other side there was a high place. I spent four days and nights without drink- 
ing anything. On the fourth morning I heard in the west a shout and a whistling 
sound resembling that made by a railroad train. I heard it four times, then I heard a 
voice say, "There is something coming to meet you from over there." I looked in 
that direction and saw something coming. It approached and I beheld a white man, 
a young man with the handsomest face, standing before me. Had he spoken to me in 
English, I might be able to speak English, but he addressed me in Crow. Had I 
been a white man and seen the vision, I think I should be wealthy today. The young 

"Skinner, vol. XIII, this series, pp. 42, 45. 



342 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

man said, "You are poor and I have known this for a long time. All the people 
around here will always know about you and hear about you; you will be a chief." 
Having said this, he yawned as though from sleepiness, and I saw that his teeth were 
all gold. He had something pinned on in front which smelled sweetly and turned out 
to be a strawberry. He said, pointing east, "A great many whites are in that direction; 
you will be taken there four times. The last time you will be an old man." Since 
then I have been taken East once and still expect to be taken three times. 

The foregoing; data will suffice to bring out the main characteristics 
of Crow visions. Since the vision concept enters into every aspect of 
Crow life, additional illustrations will be found in other parts of this 
paper and in publications on the whole devoted to other phases of culture. 

Though I repeatedly attempted to get descriptions of ordinary 
dreams, I never succeeded in securing a detailed narrative. Most com- 
monly my informants spoke of seeing ripe berries and themselves eating 
them; or the whole country covered with snow; or the ice floating down 
the river. These are quite conventional ways of designating the seasons 
of the year and the assumption always is that if a person has dreamt of a 
particular season he will live until the next summer or whatever portion 
of the year was suggested. It is dreams of this sort that are announced 
in the sudatory. For example, a man will then say, "I saw the hay crop 
being cut, may we all do the same." 

Even in the last years of his life Gray-bull would dream of martial 
experiences by night and by day. He would see a big battle and himself 
capturing a white horse. Once he dreamt the enemy were leaving a girl 
behind and on coming up to her the Crow braves found that she was a 
woman now living in Lodge Grass. On the day Gray-bull told me about 
his dreams he had taken a sweatbath and had said there, "Raise the door, 
I have seen horses, may we all have them." 

A Crow girl once dreamt that she was riding a mouse loaded with 
lodge poles. Dreams of flying and of falling from a height occur. 

If a person dreamt that some close relative of his had fallen ill, he 
would cut off a lock of his hair on the following morning, take some 
tobacco and meat, and cast all three into the water. If the relative 
dreamt about is far away, the dreamer will build a sweatlodge and voice 
wishes on behalf of the kinsman at each opening of the sudatory. 

It is believed that a bug on the head makes people dream. 

Bear-gets-up told me that in the spring of 1911 he had frequently 
dreamt of deceased friends. At first he had not dreamt about getting 
anything to eat, but later he dreamt of himself being feasted by an old 
woman of his own clan. One day when I arrived at this informant's 



1922.] Loivie, Religion of the Crow. 343 

lodge, he greeted me with the remark that he had dreamt last night of 
himself engaged in conversation with me, hence I had to come : — 
6°tsiac bawacfrak hifie batcirirak bats-awaxpak barl-waka+uk. 

Last night I dreamt this white man mutually I with him we talked we continued. 

h«c htli-matsik', ik'Ot'k'. 
Now he had to come, that is why. 

Young-crane said she sometimes dreamt of the next winter, seeing 
ice and snow. After her husband had been killed, she dreamt of him 
lying down with her. This frightened her. 

Dreams which definitely partake of the nature of visions have been 
dealt with as such. 



SHAMANS. 

With reference to shamans Professor Kroeber's admirable formula- 
tion of Arapaho conditions 1 applies in like measure to the Crow. There 
were indeed men who had received revelations of so important a char- 
acter and had shown their powers in so convincing a fashion that they 
were designated as batsk maxpe. But they differed merely in degree, 
not in kind, from others who had successfully sought visions, and it is 
quite impossible to segregate them as a definite group from the rest of the 
community. As Professor Kroeber felicitously puts it, to do so would be 
as artificial as to recognize a distinct caste of warriors in a tribe where 
every one strove to achieve martial fame. Shamanism in principle has 
thus been sufficiently expounded in the section on Visions. It remains to 
discuss certain characteristic manifestations of shamanistic competence 
at its high-water mark. 

Contests. 

The most dramatic exhibition of supernatural powers naturally took 
the form of a contest between rival shamans. This might be waged in a 
fairly amicable spirit, but was also carried on in grim earnest. Such con- 
flicts are described by the term bats-tin-dutiid, seizing one another's 
arms; 2 it represents an opponent seizing the other's arms and rendering 
him helpless. 

Perhaps the most serious shamanistic feud of the last half century 
was that between Big-ox and White-thigh. It was repeatedly referred to 
by various informants. Big-ox had had a revelation from the Thunder 
and was greatly feared as a sorcerer. White-thigh was also a great 
shaman, his principal charm being a medicine rock (bacoritsVtse) . Big- 
ox lay with the wife of Shows-wings, who had got his captain's medicine 
from White-thigh and accordingly complained to his patron, asking that 
he should do something against Big-ox. When Big-ox went on the war- 
path, White-thigh caused him to meet a large hostile force, so that his 
party was obliged to flee, losing many horses. Then Big-ox waited for his 
rival to go out against the enemy, for both of them had the pipe (i.e., 
were captains). They were out several nights. Big-ox prayed to the 
Thunder, asking that only the captain should meet with some disaster. 
It rained continually and White-thigh's horse was struck by lightning, 
so they had to turn back. Each worked against the other four times in 



•A. L. Kroeber, "The Arapaho" {Bulletin, American Museum of Natural History, vol. 18, pt. 4, 
1907), 419. 

2 bats, reciprocal prefix; Are, arm, dutua, seizing. 

344 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 345 

this fashion until neither ventured to go on the warpath. At last Big-ox 
got angry. He drew a human image on the ground, made a hole in the 
heart, blew smoke on it, and effaced the picture after saying, "You 
shall be the poorest creature on earth ; finally you shall be blind and have 
to crawl on your hands and feet." 1 This came true and White-thigh 
became so poor that he had no belt and had to use a rope in its place. 
The blinded man smoked against Big-ox and said, "He shall be very 
poor, roam from camp to camp, and end in feeble-mindedness." This 
also came true, Big-ox lost all his family, and in his old age, when I knew 
him, he had to wander from one stranger's camp to another and on 
account of his dotage had lost all his former prestige. Although both 
predictions were verified, Big-ox is generally regarded as the victor, for 
the other man died, while Big-ox in spite of his sufferings never had to go 
hungry. 

Big-ox's practices were evidently a compound of magic and animism- 
On the one hand, he relied on the protection of Thunder, on the other he 
resorted to what savors of pure imitative magic. It is said that he in- 
dulged in sorcery a number of times, but suffered himself each time since 
members of his family would die. Once he was found trying to smite a 
woman with blindness, but was caught in the act and made to desist. 
According to one statement, such practices were indulged in clandestinely 
for fear of the victim's family. However, I have satisfied myself that the 
notion of killing an evil shaman after the manner of some Shoshonean 
tribes is quite foreign to the Crow. They would either try to pacify 
their powerful enemy or have him combated by another medicineman. 

Evil magic is called duck'uo (also applied to charming a person of 
the opposite sex), and the act of smoking against some one is literally 
defined by the term kus-opiu. The methods pursued are suggested above, 
but accounts vary as to details. One Crow says that the picture of the 
enemy is sometimes drawn near a river bank, with the head nearest the 
water, whereupon the sorcerer smokes towards it and burns incense. 
The water comes to wash the image away, and the sooner it does so, the 
sooner the victim will die. Another informant says that a rock or baxe 
weed was placed on the picture and in order to blind his enemy the 
shaman would put ashes or charcoal on the eye of his image. The injury 
planned would, of course, vary: the shaman would paralyze his victim, 
strike him with dumbness; deform him, have him killed on a warparty, 

Another informant states that he saw Big-ox dig a little hole in the ground, put in charcoal and 
ground-moss (awakotsinlhe) , smoke and blow the smoke into the hole, whereupon he covered up the pit 
after saying that he was going to make his enemy poor. 



346 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

or cause him to lose his property. A common motive for the use of evil 
magic seems to have been jealousy on account of a love affair with one's 
wife. 

I learned of one other shamanistic contest comparable to that of 
White-thigh and Big-ox. The participants were Gros Ventre-horse and 
Dung- face (ise-perec). Dung-face told his rival he would send him off 
to another place; Gros Ventre-horse said he could not do it: "I am not a 
child and will not depart." "You will not know whether you don't 
go away," said Dung-face. Gros Ventre-horse answered, "You shall be 
poor and shall have no horses or tipis." Dung-face said, "You will go 
off and stay in another place, it will come true." Both had their wishes 
fulfilled. Gros Ventre-horse went to the Gros Ventre (Hidatsa?) and 
died there, Dung-face came to have no horses at all. This was an instance 
of bats&ndutud. 

Dung-face had another encounter with Jackrabbit which was not 
quite so serious. Jackrabbit had gone out to the enemy and brought 
plenty of horses. He made a song in derision of Dung-face, who went 
into his tent and bade his brother bring an old buffalo skull. On the 
forehead he drew horsetracks and announced that these were the tracks 
of the horses stolen by Jackrabbit, as well as those formerly owned by 
him. He told his brother to take the head and throw it into the water, 
saying, "These are Jackrabbit's horses." Dung-face said, "Then Jack- 
rabbit will not have any horses." The Crow broke camp and ascended 
the Little Horn. The enemy came and stole all of Jackrabbit's horses. 
Dung-face followed their tracks, caught the enemy, killed two of them, 
and recovered all the horses. Now he owned Jackrabbit's horses. 
Jackrabbit paid him for four of them, but Dung-face kept the rest. 

More commonly the rivalry of shamans assumed milder forms. 
Three- wolves told of a case which was also mentioned by others. There 
was one medicineman who would not permit any visitors to touch the 
fire in the center of his lodge. Another shaman heard of this and paid his 
rival a visit. He found two or three men there, who were afraid to touch 
the fire. He said to his host, "I too am a medicineman, but I don't 
forbid my guests to touch the fire. Why do youV The other replied, 
"I fear they would get hurt." Thereupon the visitor seized the fire- 
sticks and pulled them about, saying, "I'll see what will happen; give 
me your pipe and I'll smoke." The other shaman began to cough and 
spat out worms rapidly increasing in number and moving towards his 
rival. The latter struck his sides with some mud, whereupon a little 
bird came out and picked up the worms one after another. The host 



1922.] Loirie, Religion of the Crow. 347 

cried, "Don't let it eat up all my medicine; take your bird out and go 
away." "I don't like your medicine." At last the visitor covered his 
head with his robe and put the bird back into his stomach. Then he said, 
"Let us have some more fun, get out some more of your worms." The 
defeated shaman said, "No, you" are no good. Go away with your bird, I 
' don't want my medicine to be eaten up." One-horn added that the host, 
before acknowledging his defeat, spat out a big toad, but his rival again 
made the bird appear, which killed the toad and then reentered the 
shaman's mouth. 

This episode was also briefly described by Little-rump, who says it 
took place when he was young. The owner of the lodge, according to 
him, was named Cherry-necklace, ol the xuxkaraxtse clan; he had mar- 
ried an Hidatsa woman and had lived among her people. His neck was 
tattooed all over. The other shaman was named Red-owl and belonged 
to the usawatsid clan. Cherry-necklace would not permit anyone to 
expectorate in his lodge because if they did they would feel a worm in 
their neck. Once a man who had expectorated had a worm sucked out 
of his neck. The other taboo established by Cherry-necklace was the 
one described above. Red-owl's bird was a woodpecker. Both the wood- 
pecker and the worms reentered their respective owners' bodies. 

Sometimes a number of shamans would decide to have a contest and 
assembled in a lodge where they ranged themselves on opposite sides, 
while young men came in to sing. Then, Strikes-three-men says, one 
might begin the performance by taking a blue bead and rubbing it, thus 
transforming it into a bluebird's egg. Another would rub some buffalo 
chips and produce chokecherry pemmican. A third would twist his 
blanket, thereby causing the man opposite him to drop in a faint; then 
by untwisting the robe he would restore his opponent. These performers 
were known as ah-bakumbtre , which my first interpreter rendered, 'the 
twisters,' but the more common meaning seems to be 'the transformers/ 
'the jugglers.' The word without the prefix denoting the actor is applied 
to a white man's circus performance. One shaman said to his adversary, 
"I'll put a biwitse (flat rock used in pounding cherries) into your 
stomach." His opponent arose screaming and his abdomen was seen to 
protrude painfully. The other shaman smoked some medicine for in- 
cense and made the abdomen shrink to its normal dimensions. One 
shaman said to his opponent, "Swallow this knife." When the man had 
swallowed it, the shaman extracted it from his anus. Such shamans were 
greatly feared by other people since they could cripple their enemies 
through their power, 'seizing their victims' arms' (dndutud, see above). 



348 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

At such contests there are sometimes two or three, very rarely as many 
as four, shamans on each side. Sometimes a shaman is powerful enough 
to withstand his opponent's attack. 

Three-wolves recounted a shamanistic contest attended by him in 
which four men took part. One side would say, "Try to prevent us 
from doing something to you." They sent a burr against one of their 
opponents, and he fainted. The singers continued singing, and the suc- 
cessful shamans asked for tobacco and smoked. The man who had cast 
the burr jumped over the 'dead' man and with his hand extracted the 
burr from his body; other shamans use suction. An otterskin was tied 
to a peg in front of a performer, who twisted it, thereby choking his 
opponent and making him fall down. The first shaman leapt over him 
and after smoking restored him to consciousness. "Now we'll go against 
one of your men, try to help him." They sent a red-stone pipe-stopper 
(?) against him. Some men cannot be choked this way. The injured 
man's comrades fanned him with a blanket or jumped about. Another 
shaman rolled up wolf hair into a ball and sent it into his adversary. 
One man jumped into the fire, stamped on it, the*n climbed a tipi pole 
and on getting down challenged them, saying "Now shoot at me." 
His opponents tried every device, but he always caught their medicine 
and flung it back at them. These performances take place in the evening. 
Only those who have dreamt of this particular power are active partici- 
pants. They are usually, but not always, old men. Once a young man 
dreamt of a bird flying round in one direction and killing people thereby, 
while when it flew the opposite way they all revived. 

Little-rump mentioned tricks performed on two distinct occasions. 
Once several old Indians had assembled in a lodge and divided into sides, 
each striving to outdo the other. My informant saw one man put a leaf 
into the palm of his hand, deposit some ashes on it, blow and rub; then 
he showed a shell. Another time Little-rump and his comrade were 
with some Indians, and there was mutual twitting about each party's 
having no medicine. The others challenged Little-rump and his com- 
panion to do something. His friend took a bunch of buffalo hair and 
some dirt, began to rub them under his blanket, and threw the product 
in front of the challengers, and it was a mole. Then he took buffalo 
hair, ashes, and dirt, rubbed them between his palms, and in a little while 
the onlookers saw that he had something big in his hand. When he 
threw it down, it was a live rat. 

Arm-round-the-neck witnessed a combat between two shamans, 
one seated on each side of the lodge, where a big fire had been kindled. 



1922. 



Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 349 



Both had painted themselves and used all their medicine. One of them 
said he was going to blind his opponent. He was naked. While singing 
his song, he jumped into the fire and got out again. "We did not know 
what he did, but the other man became blind. The blinded one whistled, 
sang his song and did what he could but failed to regain his sight." 
Then the shaman who had blinded him made him see again. The second 
man in turn said he was going to try his medicine on the first and would 
make him die. His medicine was a ghost; his body was painted white 
and he had black paint round his eyes. He sang his song, went outside, 
ran up the cover of the tipi and down again. His opponent went back- 
wards and lay down stiff. When the man who had killed him saw that 
he could not rise, he did not touch him, but made the motion of taking 
something from his victim. He had a burr in his hand. The dead man 
then got up. These medicinemen were named He-seeks (batslre) and 
Enters-a-red-feather (ba+6c-birere). He-seeks jumped into the fire 
without getting hurt and Arm-round-the-neck thinks he had the stronger 
medicine. One of the two shamans went up the inside of the lodge, 
taking hold of the poles, went out of the smoke hole, and came down 
again by the smoke hole ; he made a noise like an owl. 1 

The foregoing was the only real bakumbirio witnessed by Arm-round- 
the-neck. He was present on another occasion when four shamans tried 
to do something of the same sort, but without success. One of them 
claimed having crow medicine and said he could take out people's eyes; 
another tried to do something to my informant, but failed. 
Another informant furnished the following account:— 
It was getting dark when I heard a herald cry, "All who can make medicine shall 
come together! Paint yourselves according to your visions and come to where 1 
am'" They were going to test one another's powers. They said, "We will test one 
another and see who will leave." Those men who had visions of ground-squirrels and 
ghosts always painted white. The door was opened and we all watched them. Une 
fellow who was painted white jumped into the middle of the lodge 111 kill one ot 
you," he said, and called one of the others, who immediately took his pipe to defend 
himself. They danced. The ghost-visionary took a rope, while the other held his 
pipe vertically, touching his neck. The performer tied a knot in Ins rope and his 
opponent began to choke. Another man jumped into the middle and asked the per- 
former to try his power on him. He protected himself by crossing and convulsively 
twitching his arms, and the rope did not affect him at all. 

All the medicinemen were singing separately. One shaman said You are all 
medicinemen; I'll knock you all down by my power." He hopped round with peculiar 
movements of his left hand and all fell over towards the right side. 1 hen he made 



'This is doubtless the one with the ghost-medicine. See p. 381 . 



350 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV r 

movements with his right hand, and they all fell over to the other side. Another man 
took some bark, stuck it into the fire and blew smoke on his hands, making the sound 
of a ground-squirrel. When he was ready, he said, "Look what I have done." He had 
made a big plug of trade tobacco and gave it to them to smoke. Another shaman took 
ashes, burned incense, and blew on the ashes, transforming them into beads. Still 
another medicineman got up and said, "I'll make a handkerchief." He rolled a piece 
of mud into a ball, while a drum was being beaten, rolled the ball, and stuck it into the 
fire. When he opened his hands, a handkerchief was seen in them. He re-trans- 
formed it into mud, and threw it away. I saw this myself. 

At this point all the horses ran off and all the onlookers, including myself, ran 
after them. After this 1 one shaman took a stone maul, lifted it and swallowed it. His 
stomach was inflated. He moved off and the stone dropped to the ground. Another 
man stuck the limb of a chokecherry into the ground. This was in the winter time. 
He sang, scratched the ground, and pulled out Indian turnips, which he gave to the 
people to eat. He told them to sing again, took the chokecherry limb, shook it over 
his head and looked at it three times. Nothing happened; but the fourth time he 
looked and though it was in the dead of winter there were ripe berries on it, which all 
of them ate. The same thing was done with june-berries. This magic power is 
derived from animals appearing in visions. 

Gray-bull described the following occurrences : — 

We were camping on the Plum River. I heard a crier in camp calling some men 
into his tipi so they might fix themselves up. I asked my mother what was the matter 
and she told me it was a balaanbirio I heard drums beating. I went to the big tipi, 
stood at the door, and looked in. The one closest to the door had all his body daubed 
with white clay. He sang for a while, then jumped into the fire. The singers were in 
the rear of the tent, singing special songs for the occasion. When the shaman got out 
of the fire, he said, "Make tobacco for me." Then someone on the inside said, "Give 
it here." He held his hand over the fire for a while, stretched out his arms, and when 
he brought it back he had some tobacco and kinnikinnick in his hand. He acted as if 
he were going to take something, then gave tobacco to those seated by him, who filled 
their pipes, whereupon both they and he himself smoked. The shamans were ranged 
on two sides, each group betting against the other. After the tobacco had been con- 
sumed, one shaman told his opponents he would knock them all over on one side with 
his hand. They began to sing and make medicines, telling him he could not do it and 
betting against him. He began to dance by the door and the fire, .clad only in his 
breechclout and with his body painted white. He motioned with one arm as if to 
push them to one side, and all of them fell toward one side. The spectators cheered 
the shaman. After he had done this, he sat down. A man got up from the other side; 
his body was red. He ran round the fire four times, then hooted like an owl, jumped 
up, and disappeared. W T e did not know how he went up but heard him hooting owl- 
fashion from the top of the lodge. He was going to bring either a fish or a frog, but 
at this point all the horses in camp ran away and all the people went after them, so the 
performance broke up. Somehow the shaman also returned and looked for the horses. 
Those who performed these tricks usually had a crow, rat, or ghost for their medicine. 

Gray-bull knew of no shaman of this type who gave away his 
medicine. 

'It is not clear whether the narrator means that what follows happened on another occasion or that 
it merely happened after his departure and is told on the basis of hearsay. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 351 

Legerdemain. 

Sleight-of-hand performances of this type were by no means con- 
fined to the time of formal contests between medicinemen. One of the 
most famous of shamans was Plenty-fingers, who is said to have been 
contemporary with Medicine-crow's father; One-star's wife is one of his 
granddaughters. He derived his power from a bear; at one time he was 
very poor, but when a bear was killed in camp he had his back punctured 
and dragged the skin about camp. He named all his seven children after 
the bear, — Bear-stays-in-the-wood (naxpitse-warere-na'kud) ; Bear- 
holds-up-his-arms (naxpitse-wdre-wisdc) ; Bear-small-waist (naxpitse- 
tsikipic); Bears-seek-food (naxpitse-mdruc tslru); Bear-seeks-cherries 
(naxpitse-wfitsuts-iric) ; Bear-ears (naxpitse-a'pdc) ; Where-bear-stays-it- 
is-good (naxpitse-anna'ko = itsic) . 

One winter one of these children wanted some berries. Plenty- 
fingers told them to get him the limb of a cherry tree. When they had 
brought it, he stuck it into the ground in front of himself, covered him- 
self up and made medicine. When he had removed the blanket, the tree 
was full of cherries, which the children ate. One of the boys wanted 
plums and in similar fashion he produced plums. Some of the girls would 
long for wild turnips in the winter time. He would dig in the ground with 
his fingers, take some out, and give them to his children. He could also 
produce sarvis-berries and other berries in the winter. When people had 
no meat, they would go to Plenty-fingers and ask him for some. He 
would order them to get the bark of a tree, cover himself and the bark 
with a blanket, and when he was done the bark had turned into dry meat, 
which was given to everyone to satisfy their hunger. He could similarly 
transform driftwood into annual intestines. 

Plenty-fingers was also able to treat illness. Once a man was on the 
point of death, being just able to breathe. They said, "Call Plenty- 
fingers." When he came, he bade the other people go outside. Then he 
was heard singing a bear song. He sucked something out of the patient's 
skull and something out of his neck and chest. While before the man had 
merely been able to breathe, he now began to talk and look about and 
was well. Then Plenty-fingers stuck one finger into the ground, 
sang a song and pulled out a wild turnip, which he gave the man to eat. 
He told the people to bring him a plum branch, planted it in front of him, 
covered himself and the branch with a blanket, and began to growl like a 
bear. When the blanket was removed, there were plums on the limb, 
and he fed them to the sick man. Similarly he produced cherries and 
plums for him. He also stuck his fingers into the ground and pulled out 
wild carrots (bik'dsa'te) for the people he doctored. 



352 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Plenty-fingers foretold what was going to happen. He said, "There 
is a place where you are always going to run round in a circle." By this 
he meant to prophesy that they were going to have fair-grounds. He 
also predicted the kind of guns they were going to have, saying, "I have 
a gun into which I always put six shells; I have a gun that shoots far 
away." 

For a long time he was considered invulnerable. He felt safe and 
accordingly acted as recklessly as a Crazy Dog. Once there was a big 
fight on the Bighorn and one of the enemies had a gun and plenty of 
arrows. The other Crow were afraid of him. Plenty-fingers asked 
whether any of them had struck him. When they answered negatively, 
he went straight toward him and was shot above the abdomen, but 
growled like a bear and rubbed leaves over his abdomen with his hand 
and got well again. Then he captured the enemy's gun. Four times he 
was badly wounded, but merely spat on his hands and cured himself 
forthwith. Once the enemy were entrenched and Plenty-fingers walked 
toward the trench clad in his bear blanket. They shot at him four times. 
Each time he fell down, but when he got back there was no hole in his 
blanket. Once, however, there were six Shoshoni in a trench and when 
Plenty-fingers started against them they shot at him and he fell down. 
People said, "Though he falls, he gets up again." But he did not get 
up; he had been shot square in the forehead. Little-rump was a big boy 
when this took place. 

To return to tricks of legerdemain. Little-rump tells of one occa- 
sion when he saw Hunts-the-enemy give a performance at the request 
of those present. Taking a buffalo chip, he flattened and rounded it 
between his palms, then rolled it. When it first left his hand it was a 
round chip, but as it rolled farther it turned into a skunk. He took it 
back under his blanket and threw out a buffalo chip. Another tale is 
told of how a war party were without tobacco. One of the braves asked 
his companions to whittle down a piece of bark to the size of tobacco, 
then he put dirt on and began to rub it, blew on it, and when he showed it, 
it was a piece of tobacco, which he smoked. Little-rump saw another 
man put dirt and ashes into his palm, rub them, and produce four beads. 

A similar trick was witnessed by Gray-bull. He had a comrade 
named Wants-to-live (im-bidc). One night they were out looking for 
girls and wished to smoke, but had no tobacco. Wants-to-live told 
Gray-bull to get bark from a tree. He brought it to him. He took the 
bark in his hand and shook it in the air for a while, then handed it to 
Gray-bull, telling him to take it. It was a piece of tobacco and my 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 353 

informant smoked it. Another time this same man took mud, rolled it 
into four balls in his hands, glued them to his hand, and gave them to 
Gray-bull. They were four beads such as Gray-bull wore in his necklace. 

Another man is mentioned who had like powers; his name was Old- 
man-does- what-no-one-can-do (bart-wahirisa-isQ, 'ke) . When his tobacco 
was being consumed by himself, he managed to maintain his supply, 
but not if someone else smoked t. 

One man had the Sun for his medicine. He had seen the Sun 
painting himself red all over, then taking charcoal and marking a black 
oval round his face, which he exhibited to the visionary. The man was 
able thereafter to paint his face in the same way by putting charcoal 
towards the sun and merely making the motion of painting an oval. 
The people knew about this medicine. Its owner gave the painting 
medicine to various men, all of whom proved successful, some even be- 
coming chiefs. 

Three-wolves narrated the following as an instance of shamanistic 
power he had witnessed. One winter when the snow was very deep some 
youths were pursuing buffalo afoot; four men went along. One man 
with a six-shooter said, "I'll take you where there is something to eat." 
He took them towards the mountains, where they saw buffalo crossing a 
canyon far away. "If we go there, it will take us all night." Their 
leader said, "We'll go to the brush and get a rabbit." He and Three- 
wolves went there and found a herd of buffalo lying down not far away. 
"I'll see whether I can kill one," said the shaman, taking off his robe. 
He told Three-wolves to ascend a hillock. Then he approached the 
buffalo, took something, and made a movement as if throwing some ob- 
ject. When the buffalo saw him, they rushed towards a hill, where one 
of them fell down, so that the medicineman could easily dispatch him 
with two shots. He butchered the buffalo and showed my informant a 
little burr he had thrown into the buffalo's back where the sinews meet. 
"That is what I crippled him with." He took back the burr, but Three- 
wolves does not know what he did with it. 

INVU LNEE AB ILITY . 

Relative invulnerability or marvelous powers of recuperation are 
credited to a number of medicinemen. Thus, within Little-rump's 
lifetime a man named Hole-in-his-ear was shot through the collarbone 
with an arrow but recovered. In another battle he was shot in the back 
with a gun but was restored to health. People began to think that he 
could not be killed, but at last the Piegan while pursuing a party of 



354 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Crow horse-raiders shot him in the head and killed him. Bull-snake is 
mentioned as a mm bitten by a rattlesnake and apparently unable to 
travel back to camp. His companion left him to notify his people, but 
when they came to look for him he had started home by himself. 1 Another 
man was shot through the knee, but was well enough to walk within ten 
days. He was shot in the back subsequently, but not killed. At last he 
died from illness. After his death the Crow got to where his body was 
and found that his bones were all covered with iron. His name was 
Badger-arm. He was very strong. Once he killed a buffalo and some 
people said he ought to have killed it in the shade so that they could 
butcher in comfort; he seized it by the tail and dragged it into the shade. 
Another Crow named Black-elk was shot and killed by the Dakota. 
People saw him fall on the snow with blood issuing from his nose and 
mouth. The other Crow went on and stopped at the mouth of the Reno. 
During the night the Crow who had been killed caught up with them. 
They asked where he came from and he told them. It was the same man. 
Later he stole some Cheyenne horses and the Cheyenne killed him for 
good. 

Miraculous powers are attributed to a legendary shaman Big-iron. 2 
He is believed to have aged, died, and come back to life three times 
before living for the fourth and last time; thus his span of life covered 
four generations. He was so powerful that he ventured to challenge 
Thunder and succeeded in overcoming him and other supernatural 
beings. What seems very remarkable is that according to both the tradi- 
tion and an independent statement, he told the Crow to make offerings 
and pray to him after he had died the fourth time and that he would then 
grant their requests. He also prophesied as to the coming of the Whites 
and his people's relations with them and what he foretold came true. 

Charming Game. 
Calling buffalo or deer constituted a particular form of shamanistic 
activity based on specific visions. Thus, a brother of Bear-crane's, 
while watering horses, caught sight of some buffalo hair and a slice of fat 
some four inches long on a rosebush on the other side of the creek. He 
brought the hair and the fat home with him, wrapped them up, and tied 
them to the top of the backrest. When he slept that night, he dreamt of a 
man singing and shaking a rattle and a great many buffalo came to the 
singer. When the dreamer looked at the man, the latter said, "Make a 

'See Lowie, this volume, 281. 
2 This volume, 288-298. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Croiv. 355 

rattle like this, putting a buffalo hoof on it, sing and shake the rattle, 
and buffalo will come to you. The fat you picked up was myself; I am a 
buffalo. Take a buffalo hide, paint it, take this rattle, wrap it up with 
the hide, and hang it up." He went and carried out these directions. 

At that time the Indians were starving for lack of game. The vision- 
ary went and cleaned his lodge. Beside his bed he placed dirt, in which he 
marked the tracks of big buffalo and of calves. He greased his lips with 
the fat, also took out the rattle, smudged it with incense of sweetgrass, 
and began to bellow like a bull. The next time he put the rattle on the 
same place and bellowed like a cow. The third time he imitated little 
calves, and the fourth time old buffalo. When the sun had gone down, 
he gathered together all the men in his tent and asked, "Where do you 
want the buffalo? "On that big level place on the other side of the hill." 
He sang the song he had dreamt, shook his rattle and rolled it in the mud 
as though it were a buffalo wallowing. 

He bade all the men go home and go to bed that night. "Tomorrow 
morning the buffalo will be here." The next morning he heard the bulls 
bellowing on the other side of the hill. "Get up, the buffalo are here." 
They got up, saddled horses, mounted, and went. The whole plain 
was covered with buffalo and still more were coming. They were tired 
and could not run fast. The last time Bear-crane's brother worked his 
medicine my informant was a little boy of about five. 

Big-ox is also credited with having had the power of luring game. 
Once the people could not find any game. Big-ox bade them get a buffalo 
skull and put its nose toward the camp. In the night they began to sing. 
In the morning they saw six head of buffalo and killed them. The fol- 
lowing morning they again found several head. When they had had 
enough, Big-ox bade them turn the skull round, then they did not see 
any more buffalo. Another old man painted buffalo tracks around the 
camp, smoked incense and sang, "I want to get buffalo in." He went out 
and cried, "Young men, get up-hill; I think I have seen some buffalo." 
Early in the morning some young fellow got up and saw some buffalo 
going up-hill. He went home to tell the rest and they killed some buffalo. 
Every morning they repeated this until they had plenty of meat. 

One-horn recollected several instances of buffalo-charming. Once 
the Indians were hungry and could not find any buffalo. They called an 
old man to charm the game. He told the heralds to bid a young man go 
to a pond nearby and they would find some. A young man rose early, 
went there, and discovered two big herds. He told the people, who went 
out to kill the buffalo. At another time the Crow were camped at the 



356 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Little Bighorn confluence. Buffalo were scared off and the people asked 
Big-shoulder, one of One-horn's friends, whether he could get the game 
nearer to them. He had a bonnet made of a buffalo head with the horns 
and hung it high up on a pole. Then he told the people that the buffalo 
were going to come close to the camp. They sent out a scout, but he 
could not find any. They told Big-shoulder, who bade them try again; 
if none were espied this time he would give up. Big-shoulder asked the 
same scout to go out again to Porcupine Valley, about eight or nine miles 
away. This time he saw buffalo, returned, and told the Indians, who 
went out and got plenty of meat. Another time a man told the Indians 
to look for buffalo near a high mountain. They sent out a scout, who 
espied a dozen and reported. The Indians killed them. The shaman 
told them that every day they would find a few head there, but they 
failed to find any after the first time and lost faith in his powers. Then 
he no longer made medicine. He had a coyote skin and an eagle wing 
for medicines to lure the buffalo. 

One- horn also recounted one instance of buffalo charming in con- 
nection with a shamanistic conflict. Yellow-buffalo and Jackrabbit- 
head had quarreled about women. Jackrabbit-head got up a war party. 
Yellow-buffalo knew about it and made medicine so that Jackrabbit- 
head should fail to see any game on the warpath and starve in conse- 
quence. The party were out for two days, when a young man told Jack- 
rabbit-head about Yellow-buffalo's attempt to starve them. Then the 
leader knew that he should not accomplish anything on the warpath. 
All were afoot. On the third day they still saw no game. The wind 
blew so that the deer scented the hunters. For three days they had had 
nothing to eat. Jackrabbit-head said to one man, "Get one nice un- 
broken buffalo chip." He brought it. Yellow-buffalo's medicine was the 
wind, while Jackrabbit-head's was the Dipper. He said, "Yellow-buffalo 
has been against me. I'll try to make it so we can get something to eat. 
I have a good medicine; I think it is stronger than his, for it is the Seven 
Stars." He smoothed the ground inside his tent and marked a buffalo 
track on the smooth surface. He put the chip on the buffalo track and 
took off a medicine-rock necklace he wore. This rock was covered with 
buckskin and shaped like a person's face. He uncovered the rock and 
rubbed some fat from a skin on its face ; he also rubbed it with yellow paint. 
Someone filled a pipe and passed it round till it got to Jackrabbit-head, 
who did not have it passed in front of him like the others, but over his 
shoulder from the rear. This was a sign that he was going to stop the 
famine. He put the rock on the chip; then, after smoking, he picked 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 357 

up the rock and put it over his head where he was sleeping. He left the 
chip where it was. They moved the next morning. Before sunrise 
Jackrabbit-head sent men to Rosebud Creek to scout for buffalo. They 
sighted from three to four hundred head there, and the party had buffalo 
to eat all the way home. This showed that his medicine was better than 
Yellow-buffalo's. 

Some shamans called buffalo by dragging buffalo skins tied to their 
backs and singing buffalo-bull songs on the way. Gray-bull's brother- 
in-law was a buffalo-shaman; he had the wolf for his medicine. 

Shamanistic practices were also combined with the two methods of 
driving game over a cliff and into a pound. One informant says that 
when he was a boy the Crow were roaming over the Basin. At the end of 
a ridge there was a high rock pointing south and on both sides extended 
rocks two to three hundred feet high to the distance of about two miles. 
Before daybreak all the people went out. The shamans in charge sang 
at night and selected a man for leadership in the morning. Starting 
from the edge of the cliff and on each side men and women were placed 
with an intervening space of about fifty feet; farther back the distance 
between adjoining sentinels was considerably greater. Others formed an 
arc of a circle back of the buffalo herd, while at the edge of the rocks old 
people and children were stationed. The buffalo were frightened down 
the passageway formed by the two wings of Indians and driven down the 
precipice so as to be killed. The old people sang praise songs in honor of 
those working thus. The following day the same procedure was followed 
in the same place with another herd, and on the next day it was done a 
third time. Then the women tinned the hides. My informant knew of 
another place where a buffalo drive had taken place, but he happened to 
be on the warpath at the time, hence had only hearsay knowledge. This 
time another shaman directed the proceedings. The rocks in this case 
were only about eight feet high and the buffalo were not killed in jumping 
down but impounded in a corral of about the same height, which was 
filled with from fifty to sixty head. A space was left in the structure by 
which a buffalo could be dragged out to be butchered. This method of 
hunting was generally followed in the fall. It was in vogue long before the 
Crow had iron arrow-heads. 

Deer were also charmed either in connection with the surround, the 
corral or cliff method; the procedure is known as u u x-dutud (deer-catch- 
ing) . Bull-all-the-time recollected an occasion when Cloud lured the deer 
without the use of a pound. He sang his song outside the camp, and the 
people divided into two sides each having one man mounted on a fast 



358 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

horse. They went far out and formed a circle round the deer. Possibly 
it is the same enterprise that is more circumstantially recounted by 
Bear-crane as follows. When the people were camping on the Powder 
River, Cloud told them they were going to catch deer. He sang for four 
nights, and on the fourth he cried out that in the morning the Indians 
were to get their horses ready in order to catch the deer. All men 
mounted, led by two men on fast horses. One of these held a foxskin in 
his hand, the other wing feathers. They saw some deer about as far 
as from Crow Agency to Hardin. All the men were painted as though on 
a war party. One man led two fast horses for the two leaders so that they 
could mount them as soon as theirs were exhausted. Cloud stayed 
behind and the other people with the children were behind him. They 
had all their dogs with them, leading them lest they should go ahead. 
The people ranged themselves in a circle surrounding the deer and were 
hallooing and singing. Cloud had a big pipe with a fox hide tied to it and 
moved it toward the deer, which kept circling around. When all got 
close to the deer, they turned their dogs loose. Thus they caught the 
deer. They got so close to them that the deer could jump over their heads 
and run away if not caught, but most of them were caught. The people 
were so glad that they sang such songs about the deer as the following : 
"A deer is coming running toward me; I am going to get a neck piece 
and the hindquarters." Cloud always wore a white cloth round his 
head and walked with a stoop at every step. 

Another informant described the deer hunt as follows. A man while 
fasting would see a vision of the deer hunt. In the spring, when the grass 
was good, the young men and women were called with the cry: "It is 
time to catch deer!" Then three kinds of men were sought, — those who 
had medicine for speed, those having the fastest horses, and those who 
had earned coups. All these men were assembled and divided into two 
diverging semicircles, the women bringing up the rear. In this way they 
would enclose a tract of several miles. Two men, one on each side, rode 
the best-winded horses; they were carrying arrows and were called arrow- 
runners, (ak-aruute-wase) . The shaman sang four songs, wearing a buffalo 
robe dressed with the hair. In each hand he held a pipe and he made 
motions with his hands. "When I close the fourth song, you shall begin 
to run." Then they all began to run, the leaders taking the lead on their 
respective sides and meeting in front. The people all followed along 
semicircles so as to surround the deer and closed the circle. In those days 
there were very few guns; they shot the deer with arrows. It was con- 
sidered unlucky to let any deer escape. The deer would circje round and 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 359 

round, finally gathering in a body when worn out and piling on top of 
one another like sheep. The young men gave their mistresses a gift of 
venison. The last deer hunt of this kind took place the spring after 
Gray-bull was born, which would make the date approximately 1848. 
Another method was to have two lines of rock piles leading to a cutbank, 
with people strung out in the intervening spaces, equipped with blankets 
to wave at the deer, which were driven from the rear between the two 
rows of sentries and ultimately down the bank. 

As to the corral method, the following data were secured. One night 
there was singing, conducted by the headman and his four assistants, 
while the herald ordered everyone else to keep still except that at certain 
points in the song all had to knock against their lodges and express a wish 
to get a buck or a doe. The pound was on level ground; no posts were 
set up and there were no mountains there. Two men riding the best 
horses were chosen to lead the drive and they encircled the country from 
opposite directions, enclosing a much larger territory than in the buffalo 
chase. The people kept on closing in and the deer were kept running all 
the time. Sometimes some wolves would be enclosed with the deer. The 
last time this was done at the Yellowstone River. One man named 
Rawhide was a Crazy Dog; he followed the deer round acting like a dog 
and chasing them away till the people stopped him. Cloud, who is 
credited with having conducted the ceremonial side of the surround, is 
also described as superintending a corral drive. He selected two swift 
men, each holding an arrow, and told them to run as fast as possible 
and then cross each other's path. They scared the deer, which were 
impounded by the people. In another account only one of the young 
runners is represented as holding an arrow, while the other is made to 
carry a feather. 

The use of sacred rocks in charming game is described under 
another heading (p. 389). 

War Shamans. 
With a people of so martial a cast of thought as the Crow many 
shamans naturally had special medicines for war. Their services were 
eagerly sought by men desirous of distinguishing themselves, who would 
ask to be equipped for an expedition or to be adopted by the shamans, 
thus gaining part ownership of their medicine, though at times the 
shaman himself took the initiative, offering to make the transfer. No- 
horse gave the following generic statement on the subject: — 



360 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

If a man dreamt of a certain horse, he might say to another man, 
"Take my medicine and get such and such a horse." The second man 
would reply, "All right; if I bring the horse, you shall own it." Then 
the shaman would continue, "You must know something about this 
medicine, you maj^ keep it." "If there is a day when I do not know 
something about the medicine, will you help me out?" "Yes, I will help 
you out, now you are my child." Possibly the warrior himself had a 
dream and saw a place for his party to go to. Then he would go to his 
adoptive father, saying, "You offered to help me; open the medicine bag 
and fix it as it ought to be." He did so and incensed it appropriately. 
"I will start out, and if I get the horses I have in mind I'll give you some." 
If he had good luck, he would sleep about the outskirts of the camp on his 
return and look for the shaman's lodge at night. He would say to him, 
"I have brought a herd of horses, and yours is such-and-such a horse." 
Then before dawn the old man would sing his song of rejoicing. When 
the people heard him, they knew that his son had achieved something 
worth while. The next morning the son brought the horse to his adop- 
tive father. 

If the warrior failed in his enterprise, he had his men form a line 
on a hill and sang scout songs (tsitpuxiid). Then he reported to his 
'father.' "Where I went there was nothing and I have come back. See 
what you can do with me." "I'll send you myself now. Make a sweat- 
lodge about four days hence, with a small one beside it. Call the older 
men and we'll go into the sweatlodge with them." So all would go in and 
sweat. Then the shaman would bid them go to a certain tipi, where they 
feasted, then he spoke as follows: "My son went on the warpath and 
came back without anything. My heart is heavy and I want to say some- 
thing; I wish all of you to listen. He made this medicine, thinking it 
was true, but it seems not. I want to put it aside and send him out with 
another. Four days from now go again without hiding it. The moon is 
bigger now; the first time you went the moon was just dying, that was 
the mistake we made. When you set out, let the women ride behind you 
and sing. Have everything ready. As soon as the women have dis- 
mounted, go on for a short distance and sleep. I'll sleep with you there. 
Have another stop about the same distance, and similarly with the third. 
Have all your meat eaten up. On the fourth clay hunt and kill game for 
meat. Then my soul will return 1 and you shall go right on." The medi- 
cine might be a bird. "On the fourth night when you awake a bird 

'It is the shaman's soul that is supposed to have accompanied the warrior. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Croiv. 361 

will come flying toward you. If it looks backwards and seems restless, 
turn back and run home. If it flies with ease, not shaking its wings, 
sing songs of joy and proceed ; in that case you may depend on success. 
This bird coming will be myself. When you know that you are near the 
enemy, see that your lodge is without a hole and put out the fire after 
you have eaten. When singing, look round and you'll see something. 
You will find out whether any of your men is to be killed or whether you 
are to have good luck. If the former is the case, come right back." 
The warrior would obey these instructions, put out the fire, and sing. 
He might see blankets and saddles scattered about with his men's 
shirts and clothes. Then he would have the fire rekindled and say, "Let 
us saddle up and flee." In that case he would return. Some might say, 
"The leader is timid" and would advance toward the enemy. Such 
men always met with disaster and the tribe could not hold the captain 
responsible for their death since they had disobeyed him. 

If the brave saw a black or white or some other horse, he sang songs 
of joy. As soon as his companions heard these, they cried, "Thanks!" 
Each one would say, "I want one like this," "I want one like that," 
"If I get a good gelding. I shall rejoice." A bird would appear from the 
proper direction, possibly bearing in its beak a scalp or some hair string. 
Then the captain said, "I was sent out for horses, but it seems they want 
me to do some killing." His companions might say, "If I strike a coup, 
I'll give you a horse" ; or, "If I get a gun, I'll give you a horse." Some 
possibly protested, "We have come for horses, we have not come to kill." 
In a war party there are generally a lieutenant (iptse-awud, inside-the- 
pipe), a scout, and a rear officer (hdkace, the last one), who is supposed to 
be a long-distance runner and who pokes those in front in the back with 
his gun lest they slacken their pace.' These officers discuss the plan of 
action with the leader and if all three join against him he is helpless. 
One of them might say, "When you set out, you spoke about horses, that 
is why we came." Another would say, "I came to get a horse that I 
might display, now I want you to do as I wish." Then the leader would 
yield : "All right , tomorrow before daylight you will be on top of a certain 
hill, sight the hostile camp and come back immediately. When on top, 
stay till after sunrise and watch for the smoke. Look over the ground 
and see how we shall have to run in fleeing. Find out what place we shall 

'This officer may depose any of the other scouts for sleeping too long or on account of other delin- 
quencies. He selects additional scouts. The leading scout carries a wolfskin, the lesser ones generally 
do not, but may carry coyote skins. Sometimes the wolf hide is put on the scout's head when he is 
spying from a cliff in order to prevent discovery. In cold weather the hide is used as a covering. Sojne 
think to themselves, "If I happen to go astray, a wolf will help me out." The scout's hide is slung over 
his hack so the head will project over his left shoulder 



362 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

reach before it gets dark. If it is near by, tell us and we'll stay where we 
are. Even if I have to move, we'll go slowly. If the camp is not very 
far, send one of your men back." If the scout sees the camp and judges 
it to be far off, he so reports. The leader decides to move and tells the 
scout, "We shall move slowly up to such and such a place. If none of 
your men reaches me by that time, we shall move fast." If a runner came 
back from the scouts, giving the coyote howl, the leader's party would 
sing and gather up chips into a pile. The scout who gives the signal 
circled round and repeated this when close to the party. At last he came 
directly up to the heap of chips. The leader had a pipe filled and gave it 
to the scout to smoke. The scout reported: "At a certain creek, as the 
sun came up, I saw the enemy's camp; even those boys saw the smoke." 
If he saw the camp at close range and distinguished horses and people 
clearly, he sent men back to announce it to those in the rear. A single 
howl indicated that the camp was seen at a great distance; two howls, 
that it was close. When the messenger shook his gun, the people inter- 
preted it also as meaning that the camp was close. The messenger, 
whether afoot or mounted, ran over the buffalo chips, scattering them. 
"Our leader has given orders for you to come to yonder point. The camp 
is close, you had better hide in the coulee as much as possible. Throw all 
your heavy stuff (blankets, etc.) away, look out for your guns, cinch 
your saddles and have everything prepared." Then the main body 
advanced toward the chief scout. "Where is the camp?" asked the 
captain. The scout showed it to him and said, "Get out your medicines 
and make incense. Get ready. Some of these men had better go back 
to wait for the leader for four days on the way home. If I don't get there, 
I shall have been chased another way. When at home, make a signal 
fire at the outskirts; and if I am behind you I shall make a similar signal. 
If you see my smoke, you'll know that I have had good luck and brought 
horses. That is all I have to say to you." Some member of this expedi- 
tion probably has a blackbird for his medicine. The captain asks for 
such a one, and whether he be a little boy or an older person he is put 
in the lead. At night the party arrives at the enemy's camp and all seat 
themselves at the outskirts. The captain now appoints a leading and a 
rear scout, and his lieutenant likewise appoints two. They go to the 
outside of the camp to find horses that are most easily taken. "Bring 
them here directly. If all the horses are tied, we'll get in and try to cut 
them. If any are grazing, they will capture them." Then the man get- 
ting the kind of horse promised to the captain (either in his own or his 
shaman's vision) gives it to the captain, who accepts it. After a while 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 363 

the captain says, "We have enough horses now, let us flee." They run 
all night and the following day. Any horses that are exhausted are made 
to drop behind. The party continue going for two days and two nights. 
On the fourth day they halt to get to the body detached from the main 
party, and each one of this smaller group gets a horse. They proceed till 
they get to the Crow camp, where they halt. The leader goes to the 
shaman and tells him, "My heart is good (I am glad), I have brought 
many." Before sunrise all his companions come to camp, circle round, 
and finally disperse. It does not matter how many horses are brought, 
all are driven before the shaman's camp. "This is what I have brought; 
I give them all to you." The shaman sings a song of rejoicing. "It is 
well. You tired yourself out getting them; take them and keep them 
yourself or distribute them among your relatives. I am the one that 
gives them to you. I rejoice. You know that I have now given you all 
that medicine. Go and do about it as you choose." Thus the captain 
gets to own the medicine and uses it as he pleases. 

To the foregoing may be added a specific account by another in- 
formant. 

Sore-tail was famous for sending people out on the warpath. Once 
a man named Hair set out on an expedition. He left his hoop medicine 
on a sagebrush and told his followers to take it along. They put it 
round a dog's neck and had him carry it. Hair said to them, "You have 
spoiled my luck; I was counting on victory; I'll return tomorrow." Two 
scouts came in and reported what they had seen. White-on-the-neck 
said, "Those are not elk but people." When it got dark they heard the 
howling of a wolf. White-on-the-neck said, "That is no wolf, you had 
better prepare for the enemy." They were going to send a boy for 
water. He said, "I'll go myself." As he dipped up some water, he heard 
a bush snapping. He bade the warriors hasten to their entrenchment. 
The enemy charged and shot one Crow in the breast. The captain re- 
minded them that they had put his medicine on a dog. Two men were 
wounded, one of them took his brother on horseback and they fled riding 
double. They got to the Crow camp and reported that the rest of the 
party were surrounded in their corral. All the young men immediately 
set out to relieve them, but when they arrived the Dakota had made their 
escape with some of the Crow horses. The comrades of the slain Crow 
mourned publicly. They loaded several horses with presents; some 
stopped at Sore-tail's lodge, some at the informant's father's, some at a 
female warrior's, embracing them and crying. Sore-tail said, "Tomorrow 



364 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV 

make all the moccasins you intend to take along, the following day get 
your horses, then report to me." He said three Dakota had already been 
given to him in a dream. He bade all the people come out, including the 
women, for a ceremony before the beginning of the expedition. A big 
pile of buffalo chips was heaped up. Sore-tail told people to watch him 
at noon, to go round the camp singing, and report to him, then they would 
proceed towards the pile of chips. As soon as Sore-tail was ready, he took 
the three captains and made them sit down in front of him. He sang a 
song, pointing at the sun, then at the informant's father, and the latter 
was decorated with yellow paint there. Similarly he put red paint on 
him. "I'll paint him with two colors, the rest of you with only one." 
He put blue paint on the second captain. The fourth time he sang, 
pointing at the sun and the female warrior, who was painted black. The 
three captains cried, "Thanks!" Sore-tail, wearing a buffalo robe with a 
whole eagle on it, sat down on the pile of chips. "Watch me closely," 
he said; "I shall sing four songs, then I shall rise from this pile. Watch 
me when I rise." They all watched him. He rose and turned into an 
eagle holding the scalp of an enemy in each claw. "In seven days you 
shall be back here. The first one you kill will lack one hand. As soon 
as you kill an enemy put a new moon on your back," They sighted the 
enemy on the Powder River on the fifth day; there were seventy in the 
hostile party, so the Crow confined their attention to the three Dakota 
scouts. They killed two of them; the third one evaded them for a long- 
time, but was finally also killed. It was found that his right hand lacked 
a thumb, hence the Crow called the year "When the thumbless man was 
killed." 1 On the sixth day Sore-tail told the Crow in camp to prepare 
black paint. On the seventh day Sore-tail met the war party, took one 
of the captured scalps, and went through camp exhibiting it. There was 
great rejoicing in the camp and Sore-tail was acclaimed for sending out 
the expedition . 

Sore-tail on another occasion sent out the informant's father, bid- 
ding him bring two Dakota scalps. This, too, turned out true. Another 
time Sore-tail sent out the same person telling him to be gone for thirteen 
days and bring a scalp; still another time he bade him get three enemies, 
and he did so. Sore-tail kept a pet eagle, which would fly outdoors for a 
while and then return. Sometimes the eagle would whistle, then the 
owner looked up and saw plenty of birds, whereupon he warned the Crow 
to tie up their horses near camp since the enemy was near. All the Crow 
helped feed the eagle. 

; Lo\vie, this series, vol. 9, 242. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 365 

Red-bear had a gun for his medicine. Once the Dakota were very 
near and about to charge the Crow. Bed-bear told the people to bring 
their guns to him. He burned sweetgrass for incense and pointed his 
gun towards it, asking it to break the enemies' backs, arms, and thighs. 
Then he pointed the butt toward the incense and asked it to break the 
enemies' heads. He told his followers to repeat his word. Then they all 
imitated his motions and words, each with his own gun. They had their 
gun drill. They cleaned their guns and pointed them at the Dakota. 
While they were going through their rhythmic movements, Red-bear 
sang. He ordered them not to bring arrows into his presence and told 
them he was about to attack seventeen lodges. One-eye came at the end 
of the procession with a bow and arrow, saying, "These are sharp enough, 
I can smoke them with incense." He did so, pointing his arrow instead 
of a gun at the enemy. The medicineman saw him but said nothing, 
thinking he had given ample warning. They made a dash against the 
Dakota and no one was hurt except the offender's brother, who was shot 
in the kneecap. When enemies approached, he would shoot off a loaded 
gun once, but thereafter he would shoot it without powder, by mere 
magic. 

Some other shamans were renowned for their powers of prophecy and 
divination. Thus, there was an old man who knew when the enemy were 
approaching; he could tell in how many days and at what time they were 
going to come and told the Crow when to watch for them and kill them. 
Sometimes he prophesied that it would rain or snow on the following day. 
He did not dream of these things; something told him. The Sun was 
thought to be his medicine. He asked Indians to call him "He-sees-all- 
over-the-earth." His medicine consisted of a hoop to which a star was 
tied; the hoop was wrapped with otterskin. Another man, who was 
favored by the Dipper, acted in somewhat similar fashion. He would 
dispatch war parties, telling them precisely where to go and what to get. 
Though he stayed home, he knew exactly in how many days the warriors 
would return and what they had accomplished. 

Sweet-marrow (dup-tsik' uac) had the special ability of locating the 
enemy's camp. Once he went on the warpath with some others near the 
mountains. At the canyon of the Tongue River one of them said to him, 
"Make medicine tonight." He bade them make a shelter without any 
holes in it. They did so. He sang a medicine song. It was dark inside 
at night. He took his pipe and looked through it. He saw the hostile 
camp near Cold Spring. Then he sang songs of rejoicing, and his com- 
panions said, "Thanks, Sweet-marrow; when we get to the enemy. 



366 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

we'll cut a mule and a horse." They stole a horse and returned. The 
rest of the Crow people were at the Agency. On the return of the party, 
Sweet-marrow acquired a great reputation. A few days later he went 
out again. After a while he had a dream and returned to camp while the 
others in the party went on. Young-coyote, the captain, was asked to 
make medicine one night. Then he did so and saw the camp, whereupon 
he sang songs of joy. The others also rejoiced. The enemy was at the 
site of Buffalo, Wyoming. In the evening they had a sham battle, then 
they moved camp toward an old fort. Young-coyote's party watched 
them from a high hill. Before setting out that night they made medicine. 
Young-coyote told the young man to go to the camp and see about the 
horses. They did so, but the enemy must have had dreams, for they had 
rounded up their horses and put them into a corral. Young-coyote 
sneaked into it nevertheless and captured a mule and a horse. He got 
out and traveled some distance, then stole two more. Grandmother's- 
knife said that Sweet-marrow was the only man who could find a camp by 
looking through a pipestem. He used an ordinary pipestem on the war- 
path, though he also had a special one. He would hold his medicine over 
incense at night, clean his pipestem and look through it. He always saw 
the camp in the proper place. He got his powers from his father, who 
got them from Thunder. 

A curious method of divination is attributed to Bear-tooth. At 
one time the Crow were all camped on the Missouri. The Piegan and 
Assiniboin were in the Musselshell Valley and the Crow found out that 
the enemy was coming toward them. Bear-tooth told the people to bring 
a rifle; he would shoot it off without its being loaded. If it went off, it 
would be a sign that the Crow were to be victorious. He asked all the 
people to come and look at him. "You don't believe me, but I want all of 
you to see me and each bring me a little sagebrush." He called the crier 
to herald the performance. "If the gun goes off, we'll start against the 
enemy tomorrow." The Indians got out. Bear-tooth said, "Leave 
room for me where I can dress up in my war clothes. Some of the wise 
men may examine my gun to see whether there is any cartridge in it." 
He was wearing fur moccasins, canvas leggings smoked brown, and a 
similarly smoked canvas shirt. His face was painted black up to the 
forehead and he also blackened his chin. Around the head he wore the 
mane of a buffalo. He carried his gun on his arm and went to the wise 
men, who were smoking sweetgrass, pointed the gun at the fire, then 
turned the butt toward it. He got into the center of the crowd, pulled 
the trigger, showed that there were no cartridges there and bade the 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 367 

crier keep still. When ready he said, "Before I shoot I shall sing a song. 
If it does not go off the first time, don't worry. But if it does not go off 
the second time we shall be badly defeated. If I succeed, we shall beat 
the enemy." All were quiet and watched him. He stepped back to the 
sweetgrass fire, cocked his gun and sang the first song, slowly dancing 
towards and away from the fire. He pointed his gun at the air, but it 
did not go off. The people all thought they were having bad luck. He 
said he would try again. He sang a second song and repeated the same 
procedure, as before, four times. He bent his head over, patted his right 
ear and took something out of his left ear, putting it into the gun. Then 
he sang towards the fire, approached it, and shot off his gun, which went 
off as though loaded with a cartridge. Then he spoke thus : "At the first 
trial my gun did not go off, so they may kill four or five of us, but we shall 
get the best of them since it went off the second time." Early the next 
morning the Crow got ready, peeped at the enemy from over a hill, and 
charged them at sunrise. They took many old women, adults and 
children for captives. The following day they placed these in a row and 
counted them : there were about three or four hundred. Later the Piegan 
returned and recaptured some of their people. The captive girls grew 
up and married Crow, hence there were a good many half -Piegan among 
the Crow. 

On another occasion there were about two hundred Crow on the 
warpath. They were tired out. There were about six or seven shamans 
in the party, including Spotted-horse, Gros- Ventre, Curses-the-whole- 
camp, Bear-tooth, Smooth-rump, and Crazy-bear. They were pursuing 
the Shoshoni, who had previously killed many of the Crow. After three 
or four days' journey they got to one of the Shoshoni party's recent 
campsites; they found fresh meat there and traces of seventeen lodges 
that had recently been pitched there. Trailing the enemy they got to a 
valley and riding at night came to camp a little above the Shoshoni. 
They were ready to fight but decided to wait until early next morning. 
Before sunrise they approached, put on their war dress and prepared for 
the battle. Then the leader asked Spotted-horse to use all his medicine 
against the enemy. They surrounded the Shoshoni camp, then Spotted- 
horse bade the warriors find a spring. They looked for one till they found 
one. Spotted-horse came up, dressed in his war regalia, and painted his 
face and body yellow all over. All his hair was tied in the back with black 
flannel. Then he pointed his finger at the Sun and drew an imaginary 
fine round his face with it. "If I look into the spring and see a picture of 
the Sun there, it will be well and I shall know what is to happen, whether 



368 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

we shall conquer or be beaten. Otherwise I shall give up." He sang and 
saw nothing there. The second time he scooped up a handful of water 
and saw the Sun in it. First he sang a war-dance song, then two medicine 
songs, then looked into the spring, then went back to where his clothes 
were, sat down and told a follower to untie his hair. Next he asked for a 
pipe to smoke and asked several men to smoke with him. Then he told 
them what was going to happen. All kept silent to listen to him. "Our 
enemies are among us. We shall capture and kill many. None of us are 
going to be killed, but two will be wounded and one horse will be killed. 
We'll defeat our enemies and reach home without trouble. Don't be 
afraid. We are going to beat them, and while two of you will be wounded 
they will not die therefrom. Only one horse is to be killed. I have seen 
an enemy, one girl with an arrow in her shoulder, she will be a captive of 
ours. We are ready now and shall charge the enemy." 

When they got near the Shoshoni, Red-bear stopped them to speak 
to the shaman and said, "They have medicinemen in the enemy's camp 
too, but ours are more powerful.' ' Thin-bull wanted to work some of his 
own medicine and sat down before the warriors. He was carrying his 
medicine round his waist and opened it. He had a spear with a buffalo 
tail at the end of it; which he laid beside him. He called his brother 
Crooked-feet, who sat down beside him. Thin-bull dug a pit before his 
brother and filled it with red paint. Then he took a string of deer hoofs 
and rolled them about in the pit, whereupon he painted his brother's 
face and head, stuck a crow feather into the back of his head, placed the 
string of deer hoofs round his neck, sang a song and snorted like a 
buffalo. Thin-bull told him not to be afraid of any enemy in the battle. 

The Crow had two men climb trees and look for the camp, which was 
about a quarter of a mile away. Then they all charged the enemy. The 
women had their children in the brush. The Crow killed and captured 
many Shoshoni. One Crow had a black horse killed under him, but 
escaped unhurt. Spotted-horse's prophecy was fulfilled. One Crow was 
wounded in the knee, another in the forehead, but neither was killed. 
They returned home without loss of a single man. 

Wraps-up-his-tail. 
Under the heading of shamanism may properly be considered the 
career of Wraps-up-his-tail (tsls-tsiptriac), who is sometimes referred 
to by white writers as 'the Prophet.' He is connected with the one 
Crow uprising against the Government (1890), just before the Ghost 
dance began to spread among the Plains tribes. Owing to Wraps-up-his- 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 369 

tail's failure, some informants were inclined to regard him as a pretender, 
but the general consensus of opinion is to the effect that he really pos- 
sessed medicine powers. 

The essential points in his story seem to be these : He chafed under 
Governmental domination and on the basis of a vision believed that he 
possessed supernatural powers. His instrument was to be a sword he 
had somehow secured, by waving which he believed he could compass the 
destruction of any force of soldiers sent against him. He is said to have 
given a demonstration of its use by cutting down some trees. The follow- 
ing is Gray-bull's statement : — 

I think he was medicine. He went on a war party and brought back horses. 
Early in the morning he went round camp, passed through the Agency and shot at the 
Agent's house. Rations were being distributed then and thereafter the Indians 
moved. Wraps-up-his-tail was living on the Little Bighorn, near Wyola. The Agent 
sent an (Indian) policeman to arrest him, but Wraps-up-his-tail would not come, and 
told the polceman to bid the Agent himself come for him. 

Somewhat later the war party that had shot at the Agent's house were brought to 
the Agency, then Wraps-up-his-tail went along. He said he wanted to die and the 
Agent should hang him. The white soldiers were camped at the foot of the hills, 
just below the Agency. The Agent sent for Wraps-up-his-tail and asked whether he 
preferred being imprisoned or killed. He answered, "I want to be killed." The 
soldiers were all lined up. The followers of Wraps-up-his-tail began to make medicine, 
painted their bodies, faces and horses, and rode round camp. Wraps-up-his-tail sat 
on a gray horse. He painted black stripes on his horse's legs; he was wearing a red 
shirt and leggings, with fringes at the sleeves, leggings, and at the bottom of the shirt. 
His foretop was very short. He used red paint and white clay on his face, decorating 
it with a lightning line, and tied a whistle to his head. After painting up he went 
round camp, carrying a sword. There were no clouds at the time but raindrops were 
falling. The Agent sent for Wraps-up-his-tail and had him brought to the office. 
He offered to make him chief and give him cattle and other property, but Wraps-up- 
his-tail refused, saying he wished to die. There was no fighting that day. 

Spotted-rabbit arrived and asked Wraps-up-his-tail whether he might fight with 
him. He said, "Yes." Wraps-up-his-tail made a shirt for Spotted-rabbit and the 
following day he painted up and acted as before. The soldiers were also lined up 
again. Spotted-rabbit was carrying both a pistol and a sword, Wraps-up-his-tail 
only a sword. When the soldiers had formed their line, Wraps-up-his-tail approached 
them and said that if they did not kill him by the time he reached the end of the line 
he would kill them. The soldiers were waiting for him. The Crow Indians tried to 
dissuade him ; Crazy-head and Deaf-bull were the only chiefs siding with him, the rest 
of the Crow merely looked on. Spotted-rabbit and Wraps-up-his-tail were like the 
Sun that clay. They ran in front of the line and the soldiers began to shoot at them. 
They could not hit him. When he got to the end of the line, they shot him in the 
arm. Then he and Spotted-rabbit went to the river. The soldiers sounded the bugle 
and went in pursuit, but could not hit them. About ten Indians fought the soldiers 
then, killing one of them. The soldiers surrounded Knows-his-coups and from time to 
time he shot at them. They shot Two-whistlrs through the arm and killed an old 



370 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

woman. Wraps-up-his-tail got to the spot where the old woman had been killed and 
laying down his sword asked the Crow to kill him; but they refused. After a while 
Fire-bear (Crow policeman) came up and asked where Wraps-up-his-tail wanted to 
be shot. He said he wanted to be shot in the forehead. So Fire-bear shot and killed 
him. Crazy-bear and some others were seized and imprisoned. There were only about 
ten Crow who took part in the fight; the old men all advised against it, saying there 
was no reason for fighting. Had all the Crow participated, they would have killed all 
the soldiers. I have never heard why Wraps-up-his-tail wanted to fight. 

I have heard that Wraps-up-his-tail had cut down pine trees with his sword. An 
Indian said that he similarly tried to cut down the soldiers and that a noise was 
heard overhead when he made the motion. Had he made it a little lower down, he 
would have cut the soldiers down. 

Wraps-up-his-tail received his name from his guardian, who had dreamt of a dog 
calling another by that appellation. 

Another informant presented the occurrence as follows : — 

There was a complete circle of enemies round the Crow. Wraps-up-his-tail of the 
Kicked-in-theii -bellies clan, went out with a pipe, 1 brought back a great many horses, 
and paraded through camp. He went through the Agency, where they were issuing 
beef. He shot at the Agent's house, telling him he was not afraid of him. The Agent, 
whose name was Armstrong, sent the (Indian) police after Wraps-up-his-tail, but he 
refused to go with them. The police were afraid and would not touch him. He 
said to them, "You are poor ones; I may kill all of you." He put on red leggings with 
long fringes and wore a red fringed shirt. He put a whistle crosswise at the back of his 
queue, together with a flying-squirrel (?) . His hair was done up in a short pompadour 
and decorated with white paint. He painted his face yellow and put a white oval 
round it. He painted his horse's face with charcoal; from the shoulderblade and hip 
joints to the hoofs he painted him black. His only weapon was a sword. 

The whole Crow tribe was camped at the Agency. The Agent wanted Wraps-up- 
his-tail killed and sent for the soldiers. Wraps-up-his-tail burned incense and placed 
his sword over it. He said, "When all the soldiers are lined up, I shall wave my sword 
and they will all die." The Agent came with all the soldiers and said, "Since you are 
chief of all the Crow, make known your request and we'll agree to it." The Indian 
policeman asked Wraps-up-his-tail to make a request on behalf of the Crow, but he 
refused. He said, "You are Crow Indians, I don't call myself a chief. You have 
treated your own people as prisoners. I want to die, that is why I shot at the Agent's 
house." To the whites he said, "I want to destroy you all." They were camped by 
the fair-grounds. The soldiers were ready to fight. The young Crow all supported 
Wraps-up-his-tail, who said he would point his sword in the four cardinal directions 
and kill the whites. He and his followers mounted horses. The Indian police took 
their kin to the Agency, where they would be safe. The soldiers practised shooting at 
effigies. We got tired. We heard they were trying to shoot Wraps-up-his-tail's 
effigy. 

In the morning a herald told all the Crow to mount their horses and get ready. 
"They have your power, Wraps-up-his-tail." "No, I don't like you any more, I 
want to die." There were about ten young men with him. Then others got tired of 
it and left him. The soldiers extended from the hill back of the school to the Agency; 

l The captain's emblem of office. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 3< 1 

they were all armed. Wraps-up-his-tail rode a few feet in front of their line. They all 
shot at him. We were standing farther back looking on and thought he would fall 
but he was never touched. Spotted-rabbit was accompanying him. Wraps-up-his.- 
tail waved his sword and all the soldiers seemed to fall, but straightened up again. 
One soldier said they heard something whizzing by when the sword was moved past 
them. When the horses got to the end of the line, all the soldiers formed a ring round 
him and shot at him. One man tried to stop him, but he hit him across the head with 
a sabre, knocking him down. Then ten Crow Indians went right among the soldiers. 
At last Wraps-up-his-tail fled across the river and the soldiers gave up trying to kill 
him. He talked across the stream, bidding them come and kill him, since they had 
shot him in the arm. He advanced towards the soldiers and threw down his sword, 
but they did not go toward him. The police ordered the Crow to go to the Agency. 
Wraps-up-his-tail said to Spotted-rabbit, "Go alone and hide, I want to die." He 
crossed the stream below the slaughter-house. On the other side Knows-his-coups 
was lying in a little hole, popping up and down; the soldiers shot at him, then gave up 
the pursuit. 

Wraps-up-his-tail had surrendered to the soldiers, who would not seize him. The 
Indian police arrived. He sat down, pointing at his breast. Then he said, "Point 
at my forehead." Then Fire-bear shot and killed him. The soldiers killed an old 
woman hiding in the woods. They shot Two-whistles in the arm, breaking his bones, 
and after having the arm amputated they sent him home. Three-foretops was also 
in the fray. All the Crow hated Fire-bear. Wraps-up-his-tail's brother tried to 
catch him alone and kill him, but never succeeded. Crazy-head and Deaf-bull, both 
Kicked-in-their-bellies chiefs, were blamed for the uprising by the Government and 
imprisoned in the East. 

Before this time Wraps-up-his-tail had never been recognized as a medicineman. 
After his burial it was reported that there was a red flame above his grave. The Crow 
still consider him medicine because the soldiers' volley did not kill him; also because 
on his return from the war party he moved his sword before some pine trees and made 
them fall down. 

Still another informant said that Wraps-up-his-tail had gone to the 
mountains three times in quest of a vision, staying from two to four days. 
Gros-Ventre says he has seen him paint his face by pointing his finger 
at the sun, and though he used no paint he would produce a red stripe. 
There was usually a storm when he went through camp. It was said 
that he chose the wrong season for fighting, hence his failure. He was 
powerless in the winter time, but would have succeeded in the summer. 

One-blue-bead also said that in his opinion the outcome was Wraps- 
up-his-tail's own fault. His vision was to come true in the spring when it 
thundered, but he waited until the fall. Half of his vision was true 
(Msa k'oVuk'). In part he was fooled. "He claimed that he could not 
be shot, that part was false. Our hearts tell us that part of what he said 
was true. He had a sword, went up to the mountains, made a motion of 
cutting the pines, and the trees fell down. But with the soldiers it did 
not work. Muskrat saw the trees fall." 



372 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol .XXV, 

Miscellaneous. 

When Fire-weasel was a boy he accompanied the Crow to the 
Hidatsa; there was a shaman in the party. An Hidatsa stole one of the 
shaman's horses. The shaman made medicine, calling for a good rain. 
Then it rained every day and night. The Hidatsa gardens and their 
earth-lodges were soaked, and the horses sank down in the mud. The 
Hidatsa chiefs asked the thief to return the horse lest they be destroyed. 
Accordingly, the horse was brought back at night and tied to the shaman's 
tent, but the horse's mouth had been tied with corduroy and was badly 
cut, so the owner was very angry. The chiefs made the thief give the 
shaman another horse and some property, then the rain ceased. That 
winter the Hidatsa were starving. 

One informant told about a man named Hunts-t he-spring, who gen- 
erally traveled afoot and would sometimes walk up to the top of big tipi 
poles, then down again. The same informant knew of a woman, said to 
get out of her head (duciuk), who could tell who it was whenever any- 
one peeped in through a little hole. She was a good runner. 



THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE. 

A person who administered roots and other medicines in our sense 
of the term is known as ak' barid, a word extended to include white 
physicians. As a special class of practitioners the Crow segregate the 
wound-doctors, akuwdcdiu. Those, on the other hand, who are shamans, 
i.e., derive their powers, whether relating to medical treatment or not, 
from a supernatural source, are in a literal sense 'medicine ( = holy) 
men/ (batse maxpe) . But this classification cannot be rigidly maintained 
in practice since many forms of treatment are traced to a vision, and the 
method of healing wounds is probably uniformly so derived. 

Apart from special medical assistance there are of course certain 
remedies which are extensively used. Of these the ise root, 
which is dug up in the mountains, is used in a variety of ways, but 
especially as a liniment. This is the same substance that serves so 
largely as incense on ceremonial occasions. It may be applied with 
various other ingredients; for example, a mixture of ise and buffalo 
chips is rubbed over a swelling. Once I observed Muskrat treating an 
interpreter's little daughter for a swelling. Sitting at a distance I could 
see her chew some root, very likely ise, which she rubbed on the girl's 
leg. This root is said to be eaten by bears; the stem of the plant closely 
resembles that of a carrot. Among other things, ise is also boiled with 
tallow for a cough medicine. In Pryor I bought some 'sweet-sticks' 
from Sharp-horn's wife; they are chewed, soaked in water, and drunk 
as a remedy for diarrh pa. Henry Russel, oddly enough, said this medicine 
also contained a cathartic principle and was used accordingly. Else- 
where I heard of a plant called dtsirUxe, which the Indians pull out in 
order to chew the juice, which is good for the teeth and the health 
generally. Certain river weeds are boiled into a tea {cucud) . 

The sweatlodge was not used primarily for medicinal purposes and 
even in recent times seems to have had rather a' ritualistic function or to 
have assumed the character of a sport. It is true that in a myth Old- 
Man-Coyote cures his companion Cirape through a sweatlodge, 1 but the 
circumstances admit of a different interpretation. Cirape's sickness 
resulted from his having been offered to the Sun ; hence danger is natur- 
ally averted by substituting the sweatlodge as a Sun offering par ex- 
cellence. 

■Lowie, this volume, 20. 

373 



374 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

In cases of stomach trouble the Crow even today employ an imple- 
ment called i 'tsip&tsirud, stomach-kneader. It is a stick about 18 inches 
long widening out at the bottom after the fashion of a darning-last. 
The lower part is pushed against the stomach and upward. This device 
is mythologically derived from the Dipper, who instructed a woman in 
its application, telling her she should gain property thereby in the way of 
fees. 1 However, its use nowadays is quite devoid of any religious im- 
plications. I saw Gray-bull knead a young man's stomach; he explained 
that the Crow were careful not to press hard on the navel. 

Muskrat, as shown elsewhere (p. 340), derived some of her methods 
of treatment from her own supernatural experiences, and Bull-all-the- 
time made a corresponding claim (p. 328) . Since visions differ and are of 
specific character, it follows that most practitioners are specialists con- 
versant only with the mode of treatment to be followed for particular 
kinds of disease. Thus, a man bitten by a snake, but surviving the 
effects, would regard the snake as his medicine and would treat people 
who suffered from snake bites. Wounded men, on the other hand, 
were treated by men having a buffalo vision. Again, Gray-bull's wife 
was an obstetrician, having obtained instructions from a man who had 
dreamt of a certain mode of treatment in confinement cases. 

Crow theory of disease is not affected by the belief in sorcery to 
nearly the same extent as that of many other primitive peoples. Of 
course evil magic is practised (p. 345) but it does not pervade the entire 
intellectual atmosphere. On the whole, far greater significance must be 
attached to the taboo concept. Illness is often ascribed to the trans- 
gression of a rule laid down in a vision or associated with some sacred 
object. For example, a person may be forbidden to eat chokecherries or 
a special part of the buffalo, and disobedience will lead to dire conse- 
quences. Others are afraid to come into close contact with menstruating 
women lest they bleed from the nose or contract a headache ; if such men 
went into battle after contact with a woman in this condition, they would 
probably be killed. Tangible pathogenic agents are also reckoned with. 
Sometimes the soul of a deceased individual puts a tooth or lock of hair 
belonging to the corpse into a person's body, producing insanity. Persons 
afraid of corpses seen in battle are said to be liable to this affliction. 
Gray-bull ascribes his temporary deafness at one time to a stone put into 
his ear by the hand of a slain enemy (see below) . 



Hbid., 126, 128. 



1922.] Loivie, Religion of the Crow. 375 

Turning now to the medical treatment given, it is natural that 
doctors contending with real or putative material agents of destruction 
sought to extract them. Some blew upon the affected part, others used 
suction. A favorite method was applying a pipestem and sucking out the 
fatal substance; this, e.g., was done in extracting the hair or tooth of the 
ghost causing madness. 

Gray-bull called this procedure bakorluk'. Once his son White-hip 
was ill; he had eaten some food and something stuck in his throat, and 
though he drank water he could not get rid of it. Bull-all- the-time was 
summoned and ordered everyone out of the lodge except the patient and 
Gray-bull, whom he asked to look at him. The doctor rubbed some sub- 
stance on White-hip's breast, abdomen, and neck. He sang some songs, 
sucked at the patient's throat with his mouth, making a popping sound, 
and produced a morsel of meat which had lodged in White-hip's throat. 
Bull-all-t he-time himself referred to this episode, as well as to several 
other cures he had effected. Thus, he once extracted a black beetle 
from Flat-dog's nose in the presence of many onlookers. On another 
occasion a big crowd were ready to mourn over a man who had swallowed 
a fish bone that stuck in his neck. They offered Bull-all-the-time a 
gun and other presents, and he drew forth the bone, curing the patient. 
Still another time a woman had a swollen leg and my informant sucked at 
it with his pipe and made the swelling go down. He also knew how to 
doctor spider bites, but did not treat snake bites or wounds. I saw the 
pipe used by him, which was that revealed in a dream; it had horse 
tracks incised near one end. 

The mother of Bull-does-not-fall-down fasted when one of her 
sons died and became a doctor for both wounds and illness. Once Gray- 
bull was returning with a war party after an enemy had been killed. 
The men cut off the enemy's hand and tied it to a long stick. As they 
were walking along at night, Gray-bull came to walk beside the staff- 
bearer and the hand struck him on the ear. He immediately became 
deaf. When he got home, Bull-does-not-fall-down's mother treated him. 
She took him into a sweatlodge, stuck a pipestem into his ear, and sucked 
a little red stone out of it. Then Gray-bull recovered his hearing. He 
believes the hand, that is, the enemy's ghost, put it into his ear. The 
stone was of the kind usually found on ant-hills. 

Goes-ahead had a pipestem that was painted red, and used it to 
draw some blood out of a man afflicted with pneumonia. He drew it into 
his own mouth and then spat it out. The patient recovered. 



376 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History, [Vol. XXV, 

Other practitioners blow or rub chewed medicinal substances, 
baw'tdrt, on the patient, the rubbing process being designated by the 
word blptsisuo. Any therapeutic potion is called i wa-\-ici wa'tse (by 
means of it they make them drink). How largely such draughts were 
administered by the recognized doctors, I do not know for certain. They 
were surely prescribed to some extent and also employed as a domestic 
remedy by the laity in general. The 'sweet- sticks' have already been 
referred to; Bull-all-the-time showed me a bunch of pine needles, which 
he said were boiled into a tea and drunk for medicine. 

Gray-bull described certain modes of treatment for specific affec- 
tions. For erapuo (literally, rotten stomach) the stomach was kneaded 
towards the heart and bleeding. was resorted to. Rheumatism (iHts-are) 
was treated by snake or mole visionaries, who would burn incense and 
rub on some tallow, or use the pipe to suck out blood, which they would 
expectorate. They left no mark where the blood had been extracted. 
Bull-all-the-time extracts blood in this manner to cure a colic. For a 
venereal affection called icise bdku'pak (literally, loins sick) the doctor 
placed hot rocks under the patient's genitalia, made him drink some 
powder (ammunition) put in warm water, and threw some of this mix- 
ture on him. Another disease, apparently also of venereal nature, in- 
volves a swelling of the groins and is known as ariispusud. The doctor 
heats isk, places it on the groins to relieve the pain, and blows on them. 
If this does not prove effective, he will lance the swollen parts, for if 
these were to break of themselves an inflammation of the face would 
result. Gray-bull lanced a swelling of this sort himself when on the war- 
path. Heated stones are continually used in treating this disease, the 
body is kneaded, and there is an attempt to keep the bowels open. There 
is another disease characterized by a mass of sores and aching joints. 
In this case the best physicians are called, who wash the sores and use a 
poultice with a special mixture. 

Of all the wound doctors (ak-uwdc-diu) remembered by the Crow one 
named Dap'lc takes precedence, for he was the only one who could 
make his patients well forthwith and hardly ever failed. Gray-bull had 
never seen him, but an old woman, Young-crane, recollected him. Gray- 
bull said he had heard that once a man was so weak that he could neither 
walk nor stand, so that Dap'ic had to make medicine to make him rise. 
In going towards the creek, he acted like a buffalo cow with a calf. The 
patient followed him. At the creek a fish came and ate up the matter 
about the wound. Dap'lc took his patient out and showed the spectators 
the hole in his body, then took him back to the river, dived with him for 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 377 

a while, got out, and repeated this procedure. Then the patient was as 
well as before. 

Dap 1c acquired his power by fasting at the hot springs of what is 
now Thermopolis, Wyoming. One informant says he swam out to a little 
island in a pond, sat there for three days and observed the underground 
spirits treating wounded men. Others narrated that some being took 
him into the spring, sang medicine songs for him, and gave him his own 
name, the one by which he has been known since, and the springs are 
called Dap'ic iritpxe (father of Dap'ic). After his return to camp, Dap'ic 
went on the warpath and was shot. He told his comrade that he was a 
medicineman. His friend answered, "You are a medicineman and you 
have forgotten that you are half dead." "I am going to doctor myself." 
"If the people see you cure yourself, they will wait to have you cure them 
and will give you plenty of property." Many people looked on as he 
treated himself. The bullet had not gone through him, but was in his 
body. He held an otter in his hands, showing its teeth. He was going 
to dive into the river and have the otter remove the bullet. He sang 
before entering the water, then dived into it. After four breaths he came 
out again and the otter had the bullet in its mouth. Then all the people 
knew about it. There was another battle and a man was shot with 
an arrow; the shaft was pulled out, but the head remained sticking in the 
wound. People asked the doctor to cure him. He told his patient he 
would dive with him and have the arrow point extracted by the otter. 
He sang and painted himself, as well as the patient, then dived with him, 
and when he came out the otter had the arrow-head in its mouth. The 
man was cured. On another occasion an old man was shot in the fore- 
head and the doctor took out the bullet. Once in the Wolf Mountains a 
Crow was shot below the navel in a fight with the Dakota. There was a 
watercourse nearby and after damming it up to make it deep enough they 
laid the patient in there. Dap'ic used the water-bull (bimuin tstrupe) 
and the long-otter for his special guardian spirits. He sang over the 
patient, hopped over him, and rode to camp with him, singing on the 
way. In the morning the people formed two lines of spectators. They 
made the patient rest on a high pillow and several men sang for him. 
No person or dog was permitted to pass in front of him. The doctor had 
his wife and daughter wear a robe and with them he approached the door 
of the lodge, where the singing was going on continually. Dap'ic trans- 
formed himself into a bull and made a snorting noise over the patient, 
who rolled over. Then he bade the wounded man seize his tail and forth- 
with he was able to stand up as though well. Dap'ic led him to the water. 



378 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

re-assuming human shape on the way. He took him where the water 
reached up to his chest and then dived down alone. Before so doing, he 
whistled upstream, then downstream. The patient's blood flowed down- 
stream, and he stood there for a long time awaiting the leech's return. 
His wound healed. Only the wounded man saw the doctor in buffalo 
shape. Later in life Dap'ic became blind because he had transgressed 
one of his spiritual patron's rules. 

According to one informant the legendary shaman who recovered a 
drowned Crow's necklace 1 became a wound-doctor when he had returned 
from his diving expedition. 

Gray-bull remembered two famous wound-doctors; one was Bull- 
does-not-fall-down 's mother, who also treated other afflictions (see p. 
375), the other was named One-eye. Neither permitted dogs about while 
administering his treatment ; it was said that if a dog crossed their path 
at that time the patient would die. My informant saw One-eye at 
work on three occasions. When he treated Crazy-head, who had been 
shot from side to side, he painted white rings round the patient's eyes 
and touched all his body with the tip of his hand, which had white clay 
on it. He painted his own forehead with white clay, wore a buffalo robe, 
and tied a plume to the back of the patient's head. He stood at the door 
of the lodge, singing his song. The singers, including Gray-bull, were 
indoors. The relatives of a wounded man always got as many young men 
as possible to act as singers during the performance, and they would 
sing the physician's song. One-eye danced at the door, first with one 
foot, and rubbed a buffalo tail, which had a plume tied to it, against 
the ground so that the dust flew. Everyone cheered him. He went to 
the patient, blew on his abdominal wound, stood back, extended his 
arms and bent his body. Crazy-head imitated these movements. Pus 
and blood came pouring out of his wound. When all had come out, the 
people in camp were told to stand in two rows extending from the lodge 
to the river. Gray-bull did not see the procedure in the river since he was 
one of the singers and thus obliged to remain in the lodge and continue 
singing. Young-crane, Crazy-head's one-time wife, said that according 
to her husband he was not cured by the doctor. Some time after that, 
however, he went out to ease himself and in the morning there were 
masses of blood there; from that time on his health improved. 

Another informant mentions seeing four or five women take part in 
the singing in company with the male drummers. He says the doctor 

'This volume, 231. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 379 

pawed the ground like a bull and licked the patient's wounds, drawing- 
out blood and pus from both sides. He made the sick man walk toward 
the creek in the usual fashion, making four stops and each time causing 
water and blood to run out. He waded into the river to the depth of the 
patient's wound and made the blood and water flow out of it. Then the 
man got well. 

Arm-round-the-neck added only a few details on the basis of one 
performance he had witnessed. In this case the physician blew into the 
wound and ran back to the lodge, followed by the wounded man. This 
informant said that some doctors had seen buffalo treating one another's 
wounds in a vision and imitated what they had been shown. Others 
might see other animals (otters?) and would then use an otterskin and 
whistle instead of the buffalo tail. The wound doctors might purchase 
their medicines. 

The association of wound doctoring with the buffalo is of compara- 
tive interest since it occurs elsewhere, e.g., among the Omaha, where a 
whole fraternity of buffalo visionaries treat cases of this type. 1 

The treatment of a woman in labor has already been sketched else- 
where. 2 Sometimes no physician was called because there was no time. 
In ancient times, according to Gray-bull, only women were obstetricians 
{bld-ende ak-did) but now there are also some men who act in this capac- 
ity. A man was certainly not normally permitted to attend during his 
wife's travail, and it seems no other males, not even boys, were allowed 
in the lodge since their presence was believed to protract the period of 
delivery. Otherwise the husband was not subject to any taboo. 

Gray-bull's wife had obtained her obstetrical knowledge from a 
visionary, to whom she paid a horse. She regarded the information as a 
secret. The medicine was a combination of a horned toad and a root; 
she would rub it clown the patient's back. The woman in labor clung to a 
post planted by her bed and assumed a kneeling posture. Not the doctor, 
but anyone present, cut the navel cord (icte'pe). After the delivery the 
mother received a portion of idxciwe, a kind of fatty food (probably pem- 
mican) which she ate just once. For several days she abstained from 
cooked meat and was not allowed to stoop. 

There were no special beliefs as to twins (ddtsg'e) and Gray-bull 
did not know of any case of triplets. 



'Alice C. Fletcher and Francis La Flesche, "The Omaha Tribe" (Twenty-seventh Annual Report, 
Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, 1911), 487. 
-This series, vol. 9, 21S. 



SOULS; GHOSTS; HEREAFTER. 

The metaphysical tendency is very moderately developed among the 
Crow. There are no profound theories as to the soul and such reflec- 
tions as may occasionally be garnered on this and related topics are not 
infrequently mutually contradictory. 

The word for soul is ird a xe (my soul, barcfxe; souls, iraaxud). It 
is used in speaking of a person's will power and is clearly connected with 
the word for 'shadow/ iraxaxe. Gray-bull said that all animals (bixuam- 
bice) have souls, that is why the Crow do not kill dogs. The sacred stones 
taken along on war expeditions also had souls. Another informant, 
however, denied that animals were believed to have souls. Sometimes 
the soul of a dead person will put a tooth or a lock of hair of its own into 
a person's body and cause him to go insane. The soul is believed to stay 
by the burial and sometimes an owl-like cry is heard there. In this last 
statement there is probably a confusion between 'soul' and 'ghost,' for 
below we shall find that the deceased live in camps of their own, while 
hooting like an owl is generally described as an attribute of ghosts. 

The word for ghost is a'par&axe, which is also sometimes used to 
render 'devil.' It seems to be etymologically connected with that for 
soul, but I am unable to explain the first part of the word. Another 
word recorded for 'ghost' is maxutrete which denotes lack of body. 
Ghosts are feared and to compare a person to a ghost is to offer a grave 
insult. In a myth a woman at once leaves her husband when he likens 
her to a ghost. 1 The whirlwind is taken for a ghost and an approaching 
one will be thus addressed: — 

an-dare k'awik', di-t'at' da! 

Where you are going it is bad, you alone go (imperative) ! 

Ghosts are not regarded as uniformly malevolent, however. I heard 
of a woman named Gun, who had had a vision of a ghost. She would 
invite a crowd of people, darken her room, and make everyone sing and 
listen. Then something came and the people could not make out what 
the being had said. Gun would interpret its words and prophesy what 
was going to happen. The gift of detecting lost property and of determin- 
ing the fate of lost individuals seems to be preeminently derived from 
ghosts. In the most recent times an old couple had lost money and asked 
an Indian policeman for assistance. The latter, being a great wag, 
pretended to recover the money by means of his medicine, — a whirl- 
wind ghost. He smoked incense, made the sign of a whirlwind in front of 
his face, and after chanting a song hooted like a ghost. 

'This volume, 118. 

380 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 381 

Once the Crow were on the Musselshell, while the Dakota were near 
Sheridan. A Crow party went out and captured some Dakota horses. 
Two of the braves did not come back; even after ten days they had not 
returned. Their brother went to an old man who had ghost medicine, 
gave him horses and property, and asked him to find out where the two 
men were and whether dead or alive. That night the old man told every- 
one in his lodge to go outside. All the relatives of the two missing men 
came and stayed outside the tipi. The old man put out his fire and began 
to sing, shaking his rattle. He made a noise like an owl, went out of the 
smoke hole, and returned to the tent. The whole lodge shook when he 
came back. The spectators heard people talking but could not under- 
stand them. Then the medicineman called the outsiders and lit up his 
fire. He told them the two young men had not been killed, but were in 
camp at that very moment and bade them look for them. That very 
night one of the two missing men came back to his tipi. The old man 
had seen the two in camp and told the other people. They were there 
looking on while their tribesmen were looking for them. 

A sister of Horn's wife once went to St. Xavier for a visit. On the 
same day Gray-bull and others went there too. The following day they 
got to the Bighorn, where a Fourth of July celebration was being held. 
The Lodge Grass people stayed for the festivities, but the woman did not 
appear. They looked for her all over the district, but failed to find her. 
Her horse returned to Gray-bull's herd without a saddle. Then a ghost 
medicine woman, Stops's mother, was called. They gave her two horses 
and other property and asked her to find the lost woman. That night she 
did not tell the people to leave, but put out the fire and closed up the 
smoke hole. She began to sing and hooted like an owl. and the whole 
tent began to shake as though from a whirlwind. The audience heard 
talking but could not understand what was being said. They also heard 
the medicine woman, but could not understand her either. When a child 
who was with Gray-bull began to cry, all the noise ceased. The medicine 
woman kindled the fire and told the people that if the child had not cried 
she should have learned about the woman's whereabouts; she had been 
told that she was close but the exact place was not revealed. More pres- 
ents were offered to the shaman to make her try once more, but she re- 
fused and the woman was never found. The Indians thought she might 
have been killed by some white man or turned insane, for she had gone 
crazy several times before. 

The following curious tale was recounted by ( Iray-bull as a personal 
adventure. 



382 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

I went on the warpath toward the Missouri River. Right above the mouth of 
Plum River I came to a square-tent camp of about a thousand tents. There was a 
little house there, and a tall white man, who talked Crow, took us all to this house, 
and told us to look inside. In this house there were bunks covered with gray blankets. 
The white man told us to take off the covers and then we saw under all of them the 
skeletons of men, about thirty of them. The joints were fastened together with wire. 
When we got out, we stopped there for the night. The Indians began to sing. The 
white man told us to keep quiet for they were going to make the skeletons alive again 
and if we wanted to see it we might. We told him we had never known of any one 
dead coming to life. He said they were going to raise the skeletons to live in four 
nights. That night we heard a band-drum and cheers from the whites all night. We 
stayed there for two nights, consumed our food, and told the white man we were going 
to leave. He told us to stay and killed a beef for us. For four nights we always heard 
the band. After the fourth night the white man came and told us the skeletons had 
risen to life. He took all of us to the house, opened the door and told our captain to 
look, but he was afraid. One man was very brave and said, "I'll go and see," for he 
doubted it. His comrade said he would go in also and a third likewise said he would 
do so. Wolf-head was the first man who wanted to go in. Wolf -head asked me what I 
was going to do and I said I would do it. Wolf-head told the captain to keep quiet. When 
all four of us were inside, the white man closed the door. It was early in the morning. 
The white man took the cover off one, and then we saw a white man lying there very 
thin. He looked at all four of us. Wolf-head shook hands with him and said: "Ho!" 
The other just shook his hand and while he was holding his hand Wolf-head asked, 
"Are there people yet over there in the ghost land?" The white man answered, 
"Ho!" The Indian said: "Whenever I become a chief and people honor me, I'll see 
your people." The next Crow shook hands and said, "When I've given horses to 
all my relatives and captured picketed horses, I'll see your people." The third one 
shook hands and said: "Are there people on the other side?" "Ho!" "I want to see 
your people soon." I shook hands with him myself and told him I did not want to 
be afraid, but wanted to be an old man and a big chief. The white man said, "Ho!" 
We shook hands with the other whites in the bunks and repeated our conversation, 
then we went outside. The rest of our party asked, "How is it?" "They are living." 

Then the white man who spoke Crow told our captain if he doubted he should 
stay till the next day and see the people come out of the house. We stayed till the 
next morning, when we dressed and painted up and came to the place. We saw all the 
white men seated outside on a bench. One white man had a hole in his cheek where 
he had been shot and matter was running out of it. This man asked us whether any 
of us could speak Dakota. Our captain said he could talk Assiniboin. ' The white 
man with the hole said he was also an Assiniboin. He said he was going to talk and 
wished the Indian to listen. He talked in Assiniboin and asked the captain where he 
was going. The captain answered that he was on the warpath. The white man said, 
"When you get to camp, don't be afraid; go to the camp, take a picketed horse and 
kill some of the enemy; don't be afraid, for you are to be people twice. Don't be 
afraid of anything. The Crow who died are living in a camp. I myself can't help 
myself and have to stay with the whites." The other Indians told the captain to ask 
what was the matter with the man's face. He asked him. "The Piegan killed an 
Assiniboin on top of a hill, where there were rocks and trenches. While the Piegan 
were in the trenches, I went up and struck at them, shouting that I was the first to 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 383 

strike a coup. The women and men said I did not strike a coup, but only rocks. I 
tried again, sang a song and made medicine. I went to the trench. One man was 
pointing a gun at me. As I was going to stab him, he shot me in the face. From that 
day I knew nothing until the day I saw you Crow." The Indian asked the white 
whether he was going to die again, but he answered he did not know. 

We got back to the Crow camp. The one who said he wanted to see the other side 
soon died about two seasons later. What he wanted came true: he died soon after. 
Wolf-head, who had said he was going to see the other people when the Crow all liked 
him, was killed some years later. What he had said came true. The Crow honored 
him very much. The third man who said he would give horses to all his relatives did 
what he said; he was killed on the Bighorn. What I said is coming true: I am a chief 
and pretty old. I believe those men were ghosts. At first I did not believe in it but 
after seeing that it came true for the others I believed in it. Since then I have 
never seen any ghosts. 

This last narrative, whatever experiences it may be based on, con- 
nects beliefs as to ghosts with the conceptions entertained of the here- 
after. This subject seems to have exercised the Crow imagination to a 
very limited extent. So far as there is any standard belief it is to the 
effect that the dead live in camps like those of the Crow and have a 
superior way of living. This might be used as an encouragement to the 
warriors, as in Gray-bull's mysterious story. Sometimes before a battle 
the heralds would cry out: kuke astik'\ "Over there there are (also) 
lodges!" A number of informants declared they knew nothing about 
life after death and none seemed to exhibit any particular interest in the 
matter. Those who had any conceptions based them on the reports of 
tribesmen who are believed to have died and returned to consciousness. 
These accounts, such as they are, follow. 

The dead go to an Indian camp. Once a Crow died. He got to two rivers and 
beyond there was a large camp of buffalo skin tipis. He was invited into one lodge. 
Indoors everything was furnished after the old style, with buffalo robes on the ground 
to sit on. The owner looked at the visitor and said, "I see something about you I 
don't like. I don't like otters. Your people are down below." The visitor said, 
"Then I'll go back home." He came to and told what had happened to him. He 
was eager to go back to the dead again and died once more soon after. 

There was a Crow who was shot and was brought back to camp. He died of his 
wound. The next morning he got up again, went round, and told the people that all 
the dead were camped together and had a better way of living than the Crow; hence 
he said, "Don't be afraid to die." When I was seriously sick, I was eager to see my 
parents, who were already dead. I remembered what the old man had told me. If it 
was so, I thought, I might be happy with my relatives since all the dead camped 
together. 

Two men went west to the coast, whore there were no more white men. The 
Crow believe the dead are living over there. The two travelers met a man without 
moccasins who knew their names without their telling him, and he sent them back. 
They set out in the summer and came back in the fall. 



384 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

There was a man who died and came to life again. He said that all who had died 
were still living and that they were better people than the Crow. The Crow believed 
it. 

One of my (Old-dog's) own brothers got sick and weak and ready to die. He took 
a knife and tried to stab himself but was too feeble. Then he lay on the ground with 
his body on the knife and thus killed himself. He lay there for a while, then woke up 
and told his story. His younger brother, who had owned a fine gray horse, had died 
before him. This younger brother took him on his horse riding towards the camp of 
the dead. "I could hear the singing of praise songs over there; also loud talking. 
They were singing, 'Is that person coming already?' As we proceeded, he said, 'My 
horse is fast, but we have brought him.' Then my brother angrily struck me in the 
chest, saying, 'You are stingy and think too much of your horse. If so, go back.' 
He jumped off and I came back to life." This man told us he had found that the dead 
had a camp like ours and a good way of living. After this experience he did not die 
again until relatively recently (since the Crow have been on their present reservation). 



SPECIAL MEDICINE OBJECTS. 

Since most objects derive their sacred character from a vision, the 
number of medicines is theoretically unlimited. However, they can 
usually be classified in certain categories. The relative paucity of medi- 
cine bundles is remarkable considering their prominent place among the 
Hidatsa and the Blackfoot. Similarly the notion of painted tipis plays a 
very subordinate part. Altogether it seems fair to say that while prob- 
ably no important class of sacred objects characteristic of the Plains is 
wholly unrepresented, the Crow differ in a decided shifting of emphasis. 

Medicine Rocks. 

The medicine rocks (bac5ritsi'tse) occupy an important position in 
Crow religious thought. In some respects they correspond to the Black- 
foot iniskim, but the notion that their prototype is the oldest part of the 
earth and a being independent of all others, the Sun (Old-Man-Coyote) 
included, 1 rather suggests Dakota metaphysics. 

A bacoritsi'tse is primarily characterized by its appearance, which 
suggests that of some part of an animal's body, perhaps most frequently 
of the head (Figs. 1, 2). These stones were not as a rule bestowed in 
visions, but were found accidentally by anyone and then adopted as the 
finder's medicine. They were wrapped up with numerous offerings, 
such as beads or decorative strips of skin, greased with castoreum, and 
supplicated for long life and wealth. More particularly were they taken 
to a performance of the Singing the Cooked Meat festival, at which each 
guest owning such a rock pressed it to his breast, kissed it, and addressed 
prayers to it. According to In-the-mouth, the bacoritsi'tse are found by 
the odor they emit, which also indicates what kind of incense they de- 
mand, e.g., whether is'e or sweetgrass. All Indians agree that bacoritsi'- 
tse have a tendency to multiply like living beings. According to one 
informant it was customary to unwrap them when the first thunder was 
heard in the spring. 

In 1910 I purchased several of these medicine rocks, generally from 
young Indians who had inherited them and no longer used them. I 
recollect paying as much as ten dollars for one; another was offered to 
me at the price of thirty dollars. 

Gray-bull owned several bacoritsi'tse. He showed me one resembling 
a mule hoof. Soon after finding it, he had obtained three mules and had 
come to own a hundred and twenty head of horses. This stone he never 



'This volume, 15. 

385 




Fig. 1 (50.1-4008a). Medicine Rock with Offerings. 



386 




Fig 2 (50.1-4010). Medicine Rock with Offerings. 



387 



388 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV 

took to a Singing the Cooked Meat feast, though a subsequent state- 
ment indicates that he used it with his others when he himself arranged 
this ceremony. One of the other stones resembled a buffalo head, still 
another had horns and the semblance of eyes but Gray-bull did not know 
what it was. His principal bacoritsi'tse he kept enclosed in several cloth 
wrappers, the whole being stored in a rawhide container of envelope 
shape. The body of the stone was completely covered with buckskin, 
which was decorated with rows of beads. The rock itself was said to 
have natural horsetrack markings on one side and to suggest a human 
head on the other; a deer was also marked on it. With the rock there 
were the usual trimmings of weasel-skin, elk teeth, and the like; also 
some sweetgrass. The stone always faced upward (tse wdkus-a+uk). In 
the same wrapping, but considered a distinct medicine, there was a very 
small bundle containing a little stone on which might be seen or imagined 
a face. This had been found by a little child and according to my 
authority had since then grown to twice its original size. Gray-bull 
would pray to it as follows: "May I have horses and property, live till 
the next year, and fare well (itsik' ata bakd 'kuwi) ! ' ' While wearing it sus- 
pended from his neck, he had captured a rifle, two horses, and an eagle 
feasting on a buffalo, besides experiencing other forms of good luck. 

Normally bacoritsi'tse were not sold but inherited. Gray-bull 
inherited his principal stone from his stepfather. 

In-the-mouth told of a remarkable bacoritsi'tse shaped on one side 
like a buffalo with a bird on top, on the other like a horse mounted by a 
little being in human form. In going on an expedition the owner would 
ask the buffalo for success, e.g., for a horse. This stone gave birth to 
two stones ("had two children"), which multiplied in turn. The 'children' 
were given to some men as captain's medicines. Some people offered 
as much as ten horses for the medicine, but the owner would not sell it. 
The owners would open up the bundle and show the contents to close 
relatives, but would not permit any handling. Sweetgrass was used for 
incense with this stone. It was discovered by the wife of Sees-the-bull's- 
member, a reckless young man who had squandered all his property at 
gambling and deserted his wife. She went out crying and scented sweet- 
grass, whereupon she saw the bacoritsi'tse shining and picked it up. That 
night her husband returned and through the stone he secured a captain's 
vision. By means of it he was able to cause buffalo to come when they 
were scarce. 

Two points are noteworthy in connection with the last-named stone. 
The circumstances of its discovery, for one thing, align it with medicines 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 389 

secured in visions. Secondly, its use for charming buffalo constitutes a. 
specific point of resemblance with the Blackfoot iniskim. 

Gray-bull told me that Medicine-crow owned one bacoritsi'tse 
that he esteemed above the rest. It had been found by Medicine-Crow's 
mother and had reproduced itself since then. When people unwrapped 
it, they saw horsetracks, would go on a raid and bring back horses; 
also an enemy was killed. It is marked with a man's head and indications 
of a bird, horses, and buffalo. Medicine-crow did not use this stone at the 
Singing the Cooked Meat ceremony, for he is under a taboo against 
eating tongues and at the feast other people who did eat tongues might 
touch the rock with their faces. Medicine-crow's parents had owned the 
stone and abstained from tongue, so he does likewise. 

Another informant gave more details concerning this stone. It 
had been seen in a vision by Looks-at-a-bull's penis (tsfrup-ir-ik'ac) 
and later found by his wife, Medicine-crow's mother, whom he married in 
accordance with the levirate. The woman always kept it under her 
dress. Her husband wanted to see it. One day she said, "We'll go out 
and I'll show it to you." They went to a coulee, and there she took it 
out and showed him the medicine. One stone looked like a bird, another 
like a buffalo, the third like a horse, the fourth like a person resembling 
Two-leggings. There was some hair hanging down from a willow and the 
man tried to take it, but his wife asked him not to do so. Then they 
went home and on the way they found a bunch of hair and a piece of fat; 
with the latter they greased the bacoritsi'tse and wrapped it up in the 
hair. They got to a hill. The woman bade her husband remain there in 
order to get another vision of the stone and went home alone. In 
the night the man dreamt about all sorts of things the stone told him to 
do; they showed him how to lead a war party and how to make medicine. 

Medicine-crow was growing up as a boy. One day he told his (step-) 
father that he was hungry. All the people were starving, for there were 
no buffalo. Looks-at-a-bull's penis made medicine. He made buffalo 
tracks and that night he sang his medicine song, shaking his rattle. 
The next morning they saw buffalo wherever they looked. His medicine 
was genuine. Now Medicine-crow had plenty to eat. 

Looks-at-a-bull's-penis made medicine for Medicine-crow and two 
other men, who would go out and bring horses for him. Thus he came to 
own a great many, all of them black. Early in the spring his stones were 
light in weight, later in the summer they would get heavier. In the 
coldest winter there would be frost on them, for they breathed. The 



390 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

owner made hoop medicine 1 for Medicine-crow and bade him go on the 
warpath and bring a pinto from camps on the Rosebud. His son went 
there and brought a herd including a buckskin pinto. Looks-at-a-bull's- 
penis made medicine for Two-leggings, asking him to choose between 
killing a person and capturing horses. Two-leggings chose the latter and 
brought two horses, one of them a buckskin. The owner dreamt about 
Takes-it-back-twice and gave him the bacoritsi'tse to take on the war- 
path, but on the way one of the horns of the stone broke off and he was 
not successful. The next time, however, he captured a white horse and 
gave him to Looks-at-a-bull's-penis. 

The bacoritsi'tse always told this man where the Crow should go so 
as to avoid a bad winter and have plenty to eat. Whenever he received 
such instructions, he had a crier proclaim them. Thus they avoided 
hard times. According to my informant, this medicine stone descended 
to Little-nest, Looks-at-a-bull's-penis' own son, who unwrapped it 
last spring (1915). 

Charges-camp told me about an old woman named Otter- woman, 
who discovered a bacoritsi'tse that brought her good luck. The owner 
was always fortunate in getting property. When the camp was moved, 
this rock was always taken to lead the people to the right hunting- 
grounds. War leaders would go to Otter-woman, pay her a fee, and get 
her medicine with whatever dreams she had had about it. 



l This refers to another medicine seen by him in a vision. 



BUNDLES. 

In a certain sense it seems artificial to segregate one class of Crow 
medicines as 'bundles.' Literally, almost all medicines are bundles, i.e., 
wrapped-up aggregations of sacred objects. This, e.g., would fully 
apply to the medicine rocks. On the other hand, even where this might 
not hold it remains true that for the native the material characteristics 
of a medicine are quite subordinate to its spiritual significance, which 
from the nature of the case must be at least generically uniform. Never- 
theless, from a comparative point of view it seems proper to separate 
those medicines which are not only physically more complex but have 
greater dignity and even tribal significance. Such bundles are not 
numerous among the Crow and unlike those of the Hidatsa and Black- 
foot they do not conform to a single pattern. The Medicine Pipe and the 
Horse Dance medicine, both of which are described elsewhere, are known 
to be of alien origin, the former being derived from the Hidatsa, the latter 
from the Assiniboin. Among the Crow medicines derived from indigenous 
visions, the Sun dance doll, 1 the Tobacco medicines, and the Medicine 
Arrow probably approximate most closely to the bundles of other tribes. 
Owing to the importance of the sacred arrows among the Cheyenne, it is 
quite possible that even in the last-mentioned instance we are dealing 
with at least the adaptation of a foreign idea. Both the Medicine Arrow 
and the Doll were evidently passed on from one close relative to another, 
differing in this respect from the Tobacco medicine, which was acquired 
by a selection of sacred objects from the adopting chapter of the society 
at the time of initiation. 

Since the other bundles have been described elsewhere, I will here 
confine myself to the Medicine Arrow (ardut maxpe) concerning which I 
interviewed Hillside and Flat-head-woman in 1914. I will begin with 
Hillside's narrative. 

Hillside's Account of the Arrow Bundle. Cut-ear's father was my 
brother. He was young and very poor. Near Forsyth there is a peak 
called Buatarec. There he went up; in order to get up he had to make a 
kind of ladder. He chopped off a finger and fasted there. Then he had a 
vision of the Seven Stars; they appeared as seven persons and sang songs 
to him. One of them had a medicine arrow in his possession. This one 
sang a song. The arrow was covered; it was notched and was held with 
the notch pointing the other way. He sang a song and threw the arrow, 

■This series, vol. 16, 12 seq. 

391 



392 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

which alighted by the Crow camp. Then the visionary heard the In- 
dians crying, for joy and saw a big herd of horses. This was the song: — 
awe c6nctat hiriace. 

Land in any say this. 

He threw the arrow as in the arrow-game. The one who sang had a red 
arrow, which I have now. Four of the seven visitants had arrows. The 
second took a black arrow. He sang a song with the same words, then 
threw the arrow, which went toward the Dakota and struck their land. 
Then the Crow were heard shouting and praying for first-coups, and 
people were seen entangled in a fight. The Crow were heard saying: 
aho\ (Thank you!) The third arrow was green, this now belongs to 
Flat-head- woman. Another star held it and sang: — 
hutse hiiwa' tsewik"; hutse hii wlk'. 

The wind to come I'll make; the wind is coming. 

He threw the arrow. It struck the Dakota country. The visionary 
heard horses making a noise and the Crow shouting 'thanks/ and saw 
many dead enemies. The fourth arrow was white. The fourth star 
picked it up. The first star said to him, "That arrow is no good, don't 
throw it." Nevertheless, he sang and threw it, but it wiggled and came 
back. The first three stars must have made it come back. 

I was about ten years old when among the River Crow. At about 
eighteen I came to the Ac'arahfi band to visit my brother. I had heard 
about his going out on war parties as captain and being successful. I 
joined his party. He gave me a black wolf and sent me out as scout. I 
was not sleepy, but a good runner, an early riser, and a good marksman. 
Whenever I caught horses on my trips I always gave one or two to my 
brother. I had a reason for so doing. The wolf was the first thing he 
gave me. When I had proved a good shot, my brother said, "You are all 
right now, you may be a war captain." 

I made several trips to the Dakota, but came back empty-handed 
three or four times. Then I went out with a magpie my brother gave me. 
On one trip in the Wolf mountains the Dakota tracked me. I got scared, 
but made my escape, though they followed me. I was tired out and fell 
asleep. I had felt badly before falling asleep, saying, "That medicine 
of mine is bad, I have no medicine." In my sleep the owner of the arrow 
visited me. My brother had never told me about his vision, but in my 
sleep I saw an arrow thrown toward where he had fasted. It alighted on 
an island there. There were plenty of horses, the best of them a bay 
with feathers on his forehead, and I heard the Crow shouting for joy. 
I woke up and bade my followers be ready when the snow should melt 
and make their way to me wherever they might be. It was the beginning 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 393 

of winter then. "I'll go out and bring a big herd of horses. In all my 
troubles so far I have done no leading at all, but now I'll take you out in 
a different way, I'll take the medicine arrow with me." I did not know 
yet whether the owner would give it to me or not. 

When it was time for me to start, I said to my brother, "I shall go 
out on the warpath." Then he asked of his own accord, "Do you wish 
to take the arrow?" "Yes." "Very well." When men made their 
first expedition as captains, their following was composed of poor young- 
fellows. Of the men whom I had offered to lead with the arrow, the 
majority did not trust me and said they would not go with me. Only 
Spotted-horse had confidence and accompanied me, otherwise I had new 
followers. Where I had seen the arrow, there I came upon the enemy. 
Flat-head-woman was with me. We saw the smoke from the enemy's 
camp. The snow was ankle-deep. We packed ropes. In my dream I 
had seen horses on an island feeding on cottonwood bark, and we cap- 
tured fifty head of horses. Flat-head-woman got the bay. We got away 
that night. We got near the site of Billings, where the Nez Perce were 
camped. The Crow had left. I got to the Nez Perce camp next morning. 
Flat-head-woman captured a bay and a gray horse. I gave him the gray. 

I took pity on Flat-head-woman and thought I'd make him a war 
captain. So when I returned I asked my brother, "Is this the only 
medicine arrow?" He asked in return, "Have you seen any?" "Yes, 
a blue and a black one ; I want to make one for Flat-head- woman." "He 
is no relative of ours." "That does not matter. He was my younger 
brother's comrade, and I want to give it to him." 

The next time I went to the same place as before with a larger fol- 
lowing. The people began to believe in me. This time the camp was 
below the first place. I had dogs and children with me. I took my party 
to the edge of the camp, brought back horses, and gave them to the young 
boys. Then I sent the rest to get all the unpicketed horses, and came 
home with a hundred head. 

The next time I went with a large party. Long-horse had been 
killed and I went to avenge him. At Tallick's (?) Fork there were seven 
Dakota in a camp. I was on a good horse, killed one, took his gun, struck 
a first-coup, and scalped him. We killed all the Dakota but one. 

The Crow were camped on a creek above Billings. The Dakota were 
there and stole some of our horses. I trailed them, stole thirty of theirs 
and got home with them. 

When Long-horse was killed, the Dakota had stolen some of our 
horses. The Crow were on Trout Creek. The Dakota came to kill the 



394 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Whites, instead they had to flee, and the Whites told the Crow about it. 
The enemy got to the Musselshell, into a clump of pines. No one fol- 
lowed them except me, who killed one, scalped and struck him. 

I thought I was using my medicine all alone and decided to give 
part of it to Flat-head- woman. So I gave him all my power and ceased 
using it myself, not going on the warpath thereafter. 

The medicine arrow was taken out only on the warpath when the 
enemy was seen, and early in the spring. Now it is taken out only once 
a year. When we saw the enemy, we took it out and prayed to it. Now 
we pray for horses and property. This spring, when Flat-head-woman 
seemed to be dying, they opened it for him and prayed on his behalf. 

In a tipi where the arrow is kept no one is supposed to throw any- 
thing; further, no menstruating women are allowed there. 

My arrow is red; Flat-head-woman's, made by me, is blue; Fire- 
bear had the black one. Old-tail has a red one patterned on mine, and 
Bushy-tail had a black one in imitation of Four-bear's. 

When my brother gave me the arrow, he gave up his right to the 
medicine. Wlien I thought I had enough, I passed it on to Flat-head- 
woman. Nu' pa-kurutc (Takes-back-a-woman-twice) was the nickname 
of my elder brother, given on account of one -father's clansman 1 ; his 
real name was Bear-in-the-water. My brother gave me the name 
Woman- with-plenty-of -horses (ml isacg'e ahoc). 

The stone arrow-head (about 2}i inches long) worn round my neck is 
the head of my medicine arrow. 



Flat-head-woman's Arrow Bundle. For the opportunity to see an 
arrow bundle, I am indebted to Jim Carpenter, my interpreter, who pre- 
vailed upon his father-in-law, Flat-head- woman, to unwrap it for me on 
June 20, 1914. Flat-head- woman began with this preliminary state- 
ment : — 

"The Cheyenne also had a medicine arrow, but when the Crow got 
theirs, they no longer had an advantage over the latter. In the old days 
of war parties men had to pay a good price to see the medicine, but now I 
am willing to show it for $5." 

The medicine bundle was about five feet long, with feathers extend- 
ing at each end beyond the outermost cloth wrapping. Flat-head- 
woman had a little girl bring some live embers from the iron stove, and 
divided them into two heaps, about three feet from each other, one much 



■This series, vol. 21, 41. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 395 

smaller than the other. Then he strewed some material for incense 
(ground cedar?) on each heap, and alternately lowered each end toward 
the heap nearer to it. The bundle, after being taken down, had been 
resting on a blanket spread on the ground of the tent. With some mut- 
tered words of prayer Flat-head-woman opened the bundle. The cloth 
wrappings were folded back on the sides without disturbing their rela- 
tive positions. There were two outer cloth wrappings, then a sack made 
of a complete buffalo calfskin with the head on, out of which was pulled 
a rawhide cylinder open at both ends and of more uniform width, as 
well as rather longer, than the common cylindrical medicine bags. 
Turning the tail end of the calfskin sack inside out, Flat-head- 
woman exposed paintings of horsetracks and human figures, the latter 
representing Dakota. "This picture was drawn before I started; then 
I went out and killed some Dakota. The horsetracks represent a horse 
named to me by a visionary adviser to be stolen from the Dakota. The 
calfskin is the main cover of the bundle, but I keep it wrapped up in 
cloth for fear it might be struck by lightning. " In the rawhide cover, 
there are two sticks about three feet in length; originally there was 
a third, but it was lost. "We hunted for it in the mountains. It was 
foggy. At last I found it, but then I was afraid to touch it and left it 
there." Inside the rawhide cylinder was another sack of canvas. 
Though it is of poor quality, Flat-head-woman explained, it is the one 
prescribed in a vision. Inside of it was a colored wrapper; then followed 
a blue wrapper; a reddish (?) wrapper; another cloth wrapper; a green 
wrapper; and when the last-mentioned cover was thrown back there was 
nothing to be seen but a large bunch of feathers. Now Flat-head- woman 
combined the two incense heaps and strewed incense on the top. Then he 
carefully arranged the feathers and took out from among them the arrow. 
It had a stone head about one inch long, a shaft of birch wood (?), with 
a standing feather at the end, and four tails of horses Flat-head-woman 
brought home from war. Every time he captured horses a tail was 
added, each representing a different war party on which good horses 
were cut loose. My informant's narrative follows. 

Flat-head-ivo man's Tale. In the old times when there was disease 
people would offer fine calico cloths to the arrow. In time of war people 
would say to it, "If I am not killed, I'll give you new cloth" (or some 
other gift). 

In order to own this I had to go through a good many hardships. 
(Here he took smoke out of a redstone pipe and pointed the stem at the 
arrow.) "Why," the owner asked me, "do you want this so badly? You 



396 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

are not related to us, you are a different person altogether." Then Hill- 
side, his brother, said, "He was the comrade of my younger brother who is 
dead. They loved each other, that's why I wish to give it to him. Don't 
say any more about it {dirisa\). n So the owner said: "Tell him to fetch 
four birch (?) sticks." I went to look for four good ones, found them and 
brought them to him. The owner peeled them, trimmed them, and put 
them up to dry. There were about seven lodges of the owner's relatives 
who camped together. I took buffalo meat and put some in front of 
every one of these lodges, thus the owner became well-disposed toward 
me and willing to give me the medicine. After the sticks were dried, they 
were turned over to me. Nothing was said about the feathering of the 
arrow till spring, when word was sent that they were ready to feather the 
stick for me. The snow was melting. The owner called all his brothers 
and me to his lodge. A buffalo hide with its tanned white side up was 
used to put the stick on. Then they tried to find out who was a good 
arrow-maker. One man was named, but the others did not consider 
him suited for the purpose. Finally I was sent to an old man, who hap- 
pened to be related to me. I said to him, "Brother, they want to give 
me the arrow." So the old man came, smoothed the. arrow between two 
rocks and notched it. Then the owner told me the red plume on the 
shaft represented the fire. "If you are in battle, carrying this bundle, 
don't be afraid of the enemy, they can't hit you with their arrows. 
■Since we have made this one, we'll take the Dakota by their bangs and 
have their foreheads to the ground." The owner said that he had seen 
his arrow crossing that of the Cheyenne, i.e., the Crow arrow was 
superior. (At this point Flat-head-woman offered smoke to his arrow.) 

The owner said, "The day before yesterday, as I came out of my 
tent, there were seven cranes flying in the air. Go and bring one of 
those seven. Get one of your friends who is a good shot to go with you." 
I thought it was impossible : the cranes must be far off and were possibly 
already in some foreign land by that time. I felt badly, still I went out, 
and told my comrade what was to be done. He laughed. "How can we 
see them? We can't see them; it is impossible." Still he went along to 
please me. We pretended then to go out hunting, went up-stream, and 
looked about in the marshes. We kept going. There was a sleety snow- 
storm. Suddenly the clouds were gone, and my comrade, pointing at 
the prairie, said: "Look at the white-tail deer there." When I looked, it 

was the seven cranes making their pr pr pr sounds. There 

happened to be a coulee leading up to them, so we got about as close as 
Jack's tent from here (about fifty feet). Then I told my comrade, 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 



OF 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM 
OF NATURAL HISTORY 

Vol. XXV, Part II 



THE RELIGION OF THE CROW INDIANS 

BY 
ROBERT H. LOWIE 




NEW YORK 

PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES 

1922 



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1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 397 

"You are a good marksman, kill the biggest one." So he aimed, shot, 
and missed. The cranes went straight up. I was down-hearted. Only- 
black spots could be seen where the cranes were flying on high. "You 
pretend to be a good shot, you have caused my downfall," I said to my 
comrade. As I looked up, the birds began to come down and alighted 
again in the spot where thej^ had been shot at. When they alighted, my 
comrade again wanted to shoot, but I took the gun away from him, 
aimed at the big one, fired, and missed him. The birds went up. I was 
down-hearted, but looked up and thought the birds would come down 
again. They came back to their old place. Then my comrade took the 
gun, shot, and missed again. They went up straight in the air. We lay 
on our backs and watched. They came down again. My comrade took 
the gun, made medicine, and fired. We heard a dull sound as if the shot 
had struck something. The birds all flew straight up into the air, — small 
specks hardly to be seen, but we could hear the noise they made. I 
scolded my companion, but he said, "Only six of them are gone, there's 
one coming now." The seventh alighted in the same place whence they 
had flown up before. I was going to shoot it, but my comrade would not 
let me, ran after the crane, threw his blanket over it, and caught it. 
(Here smoke was again offered). 

The owner, in sending me out, had told me he should wait for me in 
a certain place. I took the bird, and we ran back to camp. The bird 
had a long neck, and I had its neck hanging out. When I approached the 
lodge I was laughing and full of joy ; those inside were all astonished . The 
owner called for the bird, and had it sitting in front of him. I expected 
that he would pull out the long feathers, but he only took two long ones, 
one from each side of the wing, and one from the middle. These three 
he put down. The two long ones are on the arrow now. The old arrow- 
maker was to do the fixing up. 

Now the owner said to Hillside: "You, too, claim to have had a 
vision of it. Do you make half of it, and I'll make half of it. You'll give 
him some of your power, and I'll give him some of mine." Hillside said, 
"Very well, we'll make it all green. We'll make the plumes green that 
are to go on. We'll have the enemies' horses for its plumes, and I'll 
make a covering from the skin of a young buffalo calf. That is all for 
me; now do 3 r ou start yours." The owner said: "I will make a red 
plume to represent fire. We'll shape an arrow-head of rawhide. If 
(to Flat-head-woman) in your vision you see the rawhide paint gone, 
open the bundle, and if it is gone, then make a stone head." That is 
what happened, and so I have a stone point. "If either you or Hillside. 



398 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

or I, should see the arrow point of rawhide gone in our visions," said the 
owner, "we'll replace it with stone. Get the hide of a four-year-old 
buffalo, we'll use that for a cover." I went, killed a buffalo, and brought 
the hide. When it was not yet dry, the owner painted the rawhide. 
"This represents the painting on your blanket when you return from an 
expedition on which an enemy has been killed. Such and such a cloth 
shall be used for a wrapping. Put a plug of tobacco at the bottom for 
the arrow to smoke." I was about thirty years old when this bundle 
was made, and the tobacco is still there. 

The arrow-maker was told how to put the different paints and other 
decorations on the arrow. He covered it with green paint. He was 
instructed by the owner and Hillside. When it was completed, they laid 
it down and told me to get all kinds of feathers for the arrow to rest on. 
Then the bird was given back to me, and they told me to send it home. 
I went out some distance and set it down. It began to run and dis- 
appeared. It was not dead. 

Everything looked common to me till the sacks were made, then it 
began to look like real medicine to me. It was wrapped and tied. I 
took it up. After a while the owner came to tell me to tie two eagle 
wing-feathers to each end of the bundle. After several years he came to 
me and said, "Open your medicine, I had a vision last night that it 
(the arrow-head) was gone; let us see whether it is true." I do not know 
how it happened, but the arrow point was gone. The owner put on a 
stone head then, and ever since it has been there. 

Everyone heard that I owned one of the medicine arrows and talked 
about it. I would be at home when Hillside or the owner would visit me 
and tell me to go to the Dakota in some region they had seen the night 
before and to fetch such and such a horse. They would tell me they had 
seen an arrow thrown and alighting in a certain place, and had heard a 
rumbling noise and the whinnying of a herd of horses. Thus they sent 
me out. That is how they started. After a while they no longer sent me 
out. Then after a while they said, "We see you are well posted, now go 
out of your own accord." I was now to have visions of my own. I did 
not see an arrow as they did, but a long species of grass. I would see the 
stalk flying like an arrow and follow it with my eyes till it alighted some- 
where, then I would go thither. From now on everything depended on 
myself. I had visions of different things. I made a little notched stick 
about four inches long myself, because I had a vision to that effect. 
If the enemy had stolen our horses and I put this on their tracks, they 
would sleep too long or be otherwise delayed, so we would catch up if I 
led the party. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 399 

At the Old Agency one time the Piegan stole some of our horses. 
All the young men were out, and I came late with the arrow. They were 
glad to see me and wished me to take the lead. I got to the tracks, 
planted my stick there, and we did not have to go far. They had over- 
slept. We got all our horses back, killed some, brought back the hair, 
and none of us got hurt. When I got home I put this medicine back 
into the bundle again. I did this two or three times. 

When Dakota were sighted, young men would come to me with 
calicoes, pray to the arrow and say, "I wish not to be hit and to come 
back alive (bdmbi)." There came to be a big bundle of these cloth 
offerings. 

Once I went out in the dead of winter. When a considerable distance 
out, I had a vision. I heard a voice say : "Keep going, when you get to a 
certain land you will see a snake. This will be a sign that you are to 
get horses and will rejoice on your way back." The other men laughed at 
me because there are no snakes in the winter. About noon we came to a 
little creek, and there was a snake there. Then they believed that what 
I had said was true. My old comrade stayed with me, we changed 
direction and brought back some horses. 

The arrow in a vision forbids me to do certain things. It told me 
not to throw anything and not to let anyone else throw anything where 
the arrow is. It told me: "if that is done in your lodge, it will be the 
same as throwing away some of your property." It forbade me to strike 
the tipi harboring the arrow in order to knock off the snow. It said, 
"If you want to remove the snow, take a long willow and gently scrape 
off the snow without hitting it." It forbade me to cook the fat above the 
paunch or to throw ashes out of a tipi. "If you don't keep the rule, the 
owner of the arrow will be blind." 

Once I went on the warpath. The buffalo scared our horses away. I 
took my little arrow and planted it in the horses' track. They heard a 
horse whinnying and found a gray with a rope on it, wrapped round a 
bush. It was my horse ; the others could not be found. 

The owner came to me once and said: "You must have visions of 
your own. If a young man should ask you for it, it is your place now to 
make a bundle for him." I spoke to Hillside about this, but he would 
not allow it. He said, "If it were not for me, you would not own it; I 
gave it to you because you were my brother's comrade, otherwise I 
should not have done so. Do not make it for anyone else. When you 
have children, give it to them." My eldest daughter (Jim Carpenter's 
wife) owns it now. 



400 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

The owner of the medicine originally got it (in a vision) from a 
woman with black hair and white face, wearing a buckskin suit and a 
string of beads round the breast. 1 

On a war party I found red plumes, and I put them into the bundle 
with the feathers. 

Before Hillside and I started on the warpath the owner would call 
us in and brush us with one of the feathers from his arrow bundle. We 
would not have to pay for this, but other young men who desired to be 
brushed by him would have to pay a fee. When I got close to the 
enemy's camp I would sing my song and open the bundle. Then it got 
dark and cloudy so that we could hardly see one another. In most cases 
the arrow would protect us, so the enemy could not see our tracks. 

In the original vision there were four arrows: red, blue, green, black 
(dark blue). Of these four the white one was the most effective and its 
owner would become a great chief. However, he was soon to be killed, 
and for that reason people were afraid of owning it, and it was left out. 
In singing the owners must not point the arrow toward themselves lest 
they be hurt, but toward the enemy. Through the arrow the Crow be- 
came people again (i.e., after suffering reverses from other tribes). 
When we opened the bundle formerly it got windy and cloudy, but it is 
not so now. Something must have changed. When there was a battle, 
a virtuous young woman (virgin) would open it. More recently the 
owner said, "Now you can have your wife and children open it. It does 
not look well to have strangers do it." 

One time when on a war party along the Yellowstone I had a vision 
near Forsyth. "Go up where the arrow originated, and in one of the 
cracks there you will see an eagle feather of the kind next to the foremost. 
Take it out." I searched for it, found it, and took it on the warpath. 
The people never saw it except when I returned from a successful party, 
when I would expose it on a pole. But even then they could not see it 
near enough to see just what it was like. 

In battle young men tried to be the first ones to carry the bundle and 
would give presents for being permitted to do so. These arrow-bearers 
were not afraid of anything, for they knew they could not be hurt. They 
had to pay for this privilege. Sometimes the owners themselves carried 
their bundle; then they felt as if no battle were going on at all. The 
owner would point the arrow at his associate-owners and sing, and then a 
wind would come up. 

ir This is of course at variance with Hillside's account (p. 391). 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of Crow. 401 

In giving me the arrow the owner said, "When you go out on the 
warpath, you'll see a white buffalo and kill it." It came true, and this 
proved to me the truth of the medicine. 

Before the Custer massacre another general (Terry?), named Three- 
stars (I ' ge ra wic) , was helped by the Crow. Two young men both wished 
to carry my arrow and had a dispute over it. I and Medicine-crow took 
the lead in this fight on account of our medicines. When Three-stars 
went away, Custer came. The Dakota tried to kill off all the Crow, 
but on account of the arrow they could not do it. They lost plenty of 
property and horses. Custer was unlucky; he was destroyed. The 
Three-stars fight belongs to the arrow. It always protected me. Custer 
heard of it. 

Painted Tipis. 

Painted tipis did not play the important part they did among other 
Plains tribes. In 1907 on a short visit to the Northern Blackfoot of 
Gleichen, Alberta, I saw a fair number of painted tipis pitched at the 
time of their annual festivities; but though I have repeatedly visited 
the Crow on like occasions I recall but a single painted tipi, which was 
decorated with the figure of the Thunderbird. Nevertheless, there were 
a number of painted tipis in the old days and their owners were esteemed 
as medicinemen and took precedence in moving the camp. Enemies' 
scalps were always taken to such tents and subsequently given to women 
who had lost brothers in battle; sometimes they kept the lock for a while 
and would then throw it away. 

Painted tipis were of course revealed in visions. Returning from 
his experience, the visionary would have some men gather, had the 
buffalo-skin cover spread out and the paint lying about ready for use. 
Then he would say, "I saw this when fasting on a mountain," and would 
give a full description of his vision. He would close with some such 
words as, "I am painting this tent on behalf of the Crow. You will 
fare well, horses and scalps will come into our camp from everywhere." 

The most noted owner of a painted tipi recalled by Gray-bull was 
White-lip. He chopped off a joint of one of his fingers and burnt it up 
with a buffalo chip. He had a trance. When he regained consciousness, 
he was in a tipi with two black stripes by the door and another stripe 
in the center of the rear. Someone said, "Walk round, look, this is your 
tent." They gave him a pipe. When he got home, he went on the war- 
path and the Crow met five Dakota. White-lip asked his companions, 
"Why did you let the Dakota escape?" He pursued them on horseback, 



402 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

jumped off in front of one of them, shot him and took his gun. He shot 
and killed a second man. The third fled but was also killed by him. He 
did this very soon after his vision. No one ever achieved what he did, — 
killing three enemies single-handed. 

White-lip wore a necklace with plumes, hanging down; in the 
center there was a red clam shell, which Gray-bull thinks symbolized 
the morningstar, possibly the sun or moon. He also wore a shell above 
the point of attachment of his switch in the back. He had weasel-skin 
trimmings in the back. 

White-lip was leading the camp as chief. The people were on a 
buffalo hunt and there was a strong wind blowing so as to throw the 
scent to the game. White-lip pointed his pipe in all directions, drawing a 
circle. The wind forthwith blew from the opposite direction. Plenty 
of buffalo were killed. White-lip was never shot in battle. He lived to 
be about 110 years of age; his skin would tear when he moved. 

The manner of decorating the sacred tipis varied. Some had the 
picture of a moon on them, sometimes the whole lodge was painted red 
or with some other color according to the revelation. 

No Crow, according to one informant, put up a lodge of twenty or 
more buffalo hides unless he had dreamt to that effect. Otherwise, the 
Indians believed, he or one of his close relatives would die. 

Shields. 

Shields (minnatse) were sacred objects inasmuch as their decoration 
was revealed in visions; plain shields for ordinary use were not con- 
sidered medicine. The protective quality of the former type was 
naturally attributed to the supernatural experience and men going into 
an important battle desired to carry one of them. Consequently they 
would approach the owner and ask for his shield, saying, "If I achieve 
such and such a deed, I will give you a horse" (or some other property) . If 
successful, they would then fulfil their promise. 

Shields were made from the hide of a buffalo and White-arm says 
that the ventral-thoracic part was utilized. According to this in- 
formant most shields were decorated on the rawhide itself, but my im- 
pression is that in the majority of cases the painting appeared on the 
buckskin cover. 

In moving camp the owners would entrust their shields to their 
wives, who fastened them on one side of the pommel while to the other 
side was secured a stick about four feet long and wrapped with otter- 
skin; the cantle had a cylindrical bag attached on the left side and the 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 403 

spear-holder with erect spear or sabre on the right. If a man had two 
wives and only one shield, they would sometimes quarrel as to who 
should carry it, for the one doing so was regarded as the husband's 
favorite. Usually the owner took no part in the dispute, letting the 
women settle the matter between them, but sometimes he assigned it to 
the one he loved more. 

In going on the warpath the owner of a shield had it carried by a 
young man, who took the lead. Whenever the party halted for smoking 
or resting, the bearer would put the shield on some sagebrush, for it 
must not touch the ground; further he was not allowed to carry any 
weapons. When in sight of the enemy's camp, the captain owning a 
shield took it himself, as was the custom with other medicines too. 
Sometimes shields were taken from and by the enemy; such capture 
was mentioned at dances in the recital of coups, though it was not 
reckoned on a par with that of a gun. White-arm recollected the case of 
Long-piegan, a Crow, taking a Dakota shield, but said the Piegan 
Indians excelled all other tribes in getting into a hostile camp and stealing 
shields or other medicines. 

When a man was about to die, he would will his shield to his son or 
otherwise to a younger brother. It was never inherited by a woman. If 
the owner had made no disposition of it, a man he had adopted as his son 
in selling him some medicine might mourn in conspicuous fashion and 
subsequently announce, "I have done this for that shield." Then the 
family of the deceased felt that he deserved to own it and gave it to him. 
White-arm knew of no case where a man had been buried with his 
shield, but my interpreter thought Ten-bear had been and Medicine- 
crow told me he would under no conditions sell his shield at any price 
since he wanted to be buried with it. 

As already noted, no shield was supposed to touch the ground. A 
shield-bearer carried his shield on the left arm and horsemen charging 
the enemy did not pass on his left side, otherwise their horses would fall 
down. In other respects the notions associated with shields varied. 
When in my presence uncovering his shield, which had two covers, 
Medicine-crow followed a procedure which may or may not have been 
typical. He took a few live coals and burned ise for incense, then held 
his shield above the fire and raised it a little distance, lowered it and 
raised it a little higher than before, and repeated this performance till 
the fourth time, when he raised the shield high above his head. Then he 
removed the buckskin covers. 



404 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

A magnificent collection of Crow shields was made by Dr. G. A. 
Dorsey and Mr. S. C. Simms on behalf of the Field Museum in Chicago 
and is housed in that institution. I do not know what notes were secured 
in connection with these specimens. Owing to these previous purchases 
the number remaining on the Reservation was very small and since their 
owners either declined to sell at all or demanded extravagant prices I 
was able to acquire only two complete shields (Fig. 3 and4) and two shield 
covers, (Fig. 5) but was permitted to view one or two others. Fortu- 
nately my informants were able to give some data about other shields 
they had seen or heard about, and below I give all the information 
secured. 

Medicine-crow's shield was decorated on the cover with a series of 
parallel vertical lines resting on a horizontal line; these were said to 
symbolize clouds. Below the horizontal line there were two triangles 
with long zigzag appendages; the triangles represent Buffalo-above's 
eyes, the zigzags his breath. According to another note, the buffalo is 
represented as urinating, and the black lines symbolized the glancing off 
of bullets. On the shield there were also some buffalo tracks. Zigzag 
ornamentation is rather common on the shields exhibited in Chicago; 
for example, in two cases I noted that the decorative surface was tri- 
partite, the central third being occupied by a number of parallel zig- 
zags, while above and below were symmetrical series of parallel lines. 
To the middle of Medicine-crow's cover there was attached some horse- 
hair representing a scalp. At the top of the cover there was a bunch of 
mountain-grouse feathers, below an eagle feather was hanging. 

White-arm and Grandmother's-knif e spoke of a type of shield painted 
yellow, decorated with a buffalo representation in the middle and with 
weasel tracks; to the upper edge was tied a yellow weasel. There 
were several of these shields owned by men of the xuxkaraxtse clan. 

Another shield, also painted yellow all over, was decorated with 
rabbit tracks. The owner's wife had to take care of it. As soon as the 
sun rose, she placed it toward the east and as the sun moved she changed 
its position westward, wrapping it up at sunset. Owners of this type of 
shield were not allowed to eat any kind of kidney and did not permit 
others to bring kidneys into their lodge. Shows-a-fish inherited one of 
these shields. 

Another type, greatly admired by White-arm, was covered with a 
light layer of red paint and streaked in spots by a heavier application of 
the same paint. Two-bear's ears were represented, and attache:! to 
each was a six-inch cord tipped with a plume. The streaks represented 




Fig. 5. 

Fig. 3 (50.1-3894a). Magpie's Shield. 

Fig. 4 C50.1-3895a). Wolf-lies-down's Shield. 

Fig. 5 a (50-6932), 6 (50.1-3896). Shield Covers. 



405 



406 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

clouds. This shield was owned by Buatac (Coyote). In the rear of the 
lodge where it was kept people were prohibited to put any moccasins 
for fear of some stroke of misfortune. 

Another shield said in 1916 to be kept in Sheridan, Wyoming, had a 
buckskin cover painted with the figure of a buffalo, over which was tied 
a buffalo tail. The painted cover was in turn enclosed in a second cover. 
A shield in the possession of the Museum before my purchase seems to 
belong to the same category (Fig. 6). 




Fig. 6 (50-57106). Buffalo-hide Shield. 



One of the most noted shields because of the fame it brought its 
owners was called minnatse ctpewac-bice, shield having a short intestine. 
It was painted white all over, except for a red spiral, which represented 
the intestine. 

A shield so highly prized that it was never exposed in sham battles 
and accordingly never seen by White-arm is or was owned by Two-white- 
birds of Pryor. It was abundantly ornamented with feathers and other 
decoration. Unlike other shields, it was not tied to a woman's saddle in 
traveling but carried on her back. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 407 

One shield was known as minnats i'tsine hawdtec, shield supported 
on only one pole. White-arm thought it had a bear painted on it and 
might be identical with Flat-head-woman's shield. 

Bull-weasel's mother was said to own a shield covered with white 
paint and having real bear's ears tied to the middle; between the ears 
was the tail of a sage-hen and at the bottom there was some beadwork. 
This shield is called minnats tsVisg isewice, shield having a big sage-hen. 

A shield known as minnats i'g'e sd'pudwice, shield with the Dipper, 
was painted all over with a light yellow. The seven stars were put on at 
distances of from five to six inches from one another. 

White-arm himself made a shield, though a small one, which he had 
seen before becoming Christianized. He cut four horsetracks on one leg 
and three on the other, also cutting his arms and dragging horses' heads. 
He placed the cut flesh on buffalo chips as an offering to the Sun. The 
cuts on his arm represented coups he was paying for, the dragging of the 
skulls any gift that might be made. My informant did not describe 
what decoration was on his shield. 

Each shield had distinctive taboos. In some instances no person 
was permitted to borrow coals from the owner's fire; in others, visitors 
to his lodge were obliged to sit down immediately on entering; still other 
shield-owners insisted that no one must strike their tipi with any object. 

Charges-camp was said to have owned a shield decorated with the 
figure of a man in black; this man was shown with open mouth, exhibit- 
ing teeth resembling a dog's. Once the Flathead stole Charges-camp's 
horses and also his shield. Another Crow then dreamt of it and made it, 
my informant's brother paid the visionary for it and my informant in- 
herited it from his brother. 

I saw a shield with several buckskin covers, of which the outermost 
was decorated with parallel vertical lines in red. Across the center of 
the shield from top to bottom and beyond it there was an otterskin ; on 
each side there was a bunch of feathers, which was tucked under the skin 
in wrapping up the shield. 

Tattooed-face was said to own a shield painted all over with a light 
red color and with a decoration resembling a buffalo's guts. The owner's 
horse was never shot in battle. 

Grandmother's-knife told me of a shield owned by a chief named 
Rotten-belly (era-pudc). A man named Hanging-foot had separated 
from the main camp and he and all his male followers were killed by the 
Cheyenne, who captured the women and children. 1 Some of the captives 

l Cf. this volume, 185. 



408 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

escaped to the main camp and offered the pipe to the two chiefs, Red- 
plume-on-the-forehead and Rotten-belly, in order to have them under- 
take an expedition to revenge the death of their kinsfolk. Rotten-belly 
smoked the pipe and bade the young men get ready. The military 
societies got together and danced in the afternoon. Rotten-belly asked 
the warriors to get ready early in the morning and saddle their horses. 
They did so and proceeded to the top of a hill. There he ordered them to 
dismount and gather buffalo chips, which were then piled up. The sun 
had just risen. Rotten-belly said, "I'll sing and walk upon this pile of 
chips and it will stay exactly as it is. When I get up on top of the chips, 
I'll sing again. Then I'll roll my shield, and if the painted side falls next 
to the ground, we'll turn back. If the other side falls to the ground, you 
must all cheer." The picture on the shield was that of a man in black 
with his ears disproportionately large. Rotten-belly sang and walked 
up the pile of chips with his shield in his hands. He made the painted 
side face toward the sun and began to sing. When done, he threw the 
shield, which rolled away and fell with the painted side up. All the men 
cheered. He descended from the pile, picked up the shield and sang a 
praise song. He said, "Don't kill any birds on this trip." They set out. 
Young birds began to fly and one flew over a woman. She struck it with 
her hand and it fell to the ground; she picked it up, but it died. They 
reached the enemy's camp and attacked them, killing many of the enemy. 
Only one Crow was killed, — a brother of the woman who struck the bird. 
The shiel 1 was noted for its medicine power and was in constant use until 
reservation times. It ought to be at Pryor. 

In 1910 I was approached by Yellow-brow, who offered to drive me 
to his house and sell some valuable specimens. I accompanied him and 
found that he and his father Magpie really had a veritable treasure-trove 
of ethnographically interesting material. I noticed a shield and wanted 
to see it, but Yellow-brow at first refused to unwrap it, saying that he 
had no desire to sell it. After I had bought a number of medicine ob- 
jects, he relented in response to my importunity so far as to uncover it, 
still insisting that he would not sell it. When I saw the shield, I made 
him an offer and after considerable parleying he agreed to sell it for $75. 
In driving me back with my acquisitions, Yellow-brow handed the 
shield to his father, who clasped it in his arms and with great display of 
emotion recited a prayer to it. My interpreter, Jim Carpenter, told me 
that if any accident should befall the seller, the Indians would ascribe 
it to his selling the shield. The shield (Fig. 3) has a buckskin cover 
decorated with two vertical zigzag lines, one on each side; to the center 



1922.| Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 409 

is attached a whistle and on each side of it a yellow bird. Several years 
after the purchase a favorable opportunity presented itself for inter- 
viewing Yellow-brow as to the history of the shield and his narrative 
follows; unfortunately it does not explain the ornamentation. 

The Tale of Magpie's Shield. Dries-his-fur was leader of a war 
party. Humped-wolf, then about eighteen years of age, accompanied 
them. When they had gone a great distance, they were attacked by the 
enemy, who drove them out of their trenches and killed many of the 
Crow in the night. Humped-wolf was shot through the legs above his 
knees, but still went along with the survivors. That night he ran off. 
He had no clothes and it was snowing; he thought he was going to die. 
Then he came to a big black object, — a dead, buffalo. When he touched 
it, it was not dry. He went inside, where it was warm. He sta} r ed there for 
a while and was just about to go to sleep, when the buffalo snorted. He 
did not know what it was and was afraid. He heard something coining. 
Someone called him, "Full-mouth-buffalo (tsipkaricti-oric), come." 
He did not know who it was but there was daylight and he rose and went 
towards the sound. "What are you worrying about?" "I was shot by the 
Dakota, that is why I am worrying." The visitant opened his mouth. 
"You shall be the same as myself." He had no teeth. "You cannot die 
until then (when you have no more teeth). That is the first thing I will 
give you. Face towards the east and look!" It was a buffalo bull with 
another behind him; the first changed into a man, the second into a bay 
horse. Humped-wolf noticed what the buffalo-man was wearing. 
He wore a horned bonnet with a short streamer decorated with eagle 
feathers, a calfskin shirt with the hair on it, sleeve-holders of buffalo 
tail, a necklace of buffalo horns between dewclaws. In his hand he held 
a buffalo tail mounted on a pointed stick and he was carrying the shield 
I gave you (R. H. L.) He was painted white from his nose downward 
and all over his body. His horse was also painted white below the eyes, 
from the knees down, and about the middle of his tail; a plume was tied 
to the horse's forehead. This man came up to Humped-wolf and said, 
"I have made you go on the warpath and come where you were and go 
inside the buffalo. Look towards the place where you came from." 
When he looked, he saw men lined up behind him and all dressed like the 
buffalo-man. There were also dead people lying all about with guns, 
bows, and tomahawks. "Look to the west." There, too. lie saw dead 
people with guns and bows. The buffalo-man spoke to Full-mouth- 
buffalo (this being thenceforth Humped-wolf 's name) as follows: ''Other 
medicines do not last. Give this to your children and grandchildren and 



410 Anthropological Papers American Museum, of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

so on till there shall be no more fighting. I have given you this medicine. 
That plume is the body of your horse (meaning that it could not be 
shot). When a person is shot, he is considered a man. I have placed you 
among the Crow. Henceforth you shall not be driven back by the enemy. 
I have given you everything that makes a man. This is all. Give the 
medicine only to your brothers (dakupe) and your children (darake)." 
After his vision Humped-wolf went homeward. It was still snowing 
but he no longer suffered from the cold. About daylight he saw a person 
coming up in front of him. He 1 told Humped-wolf that he had forgotten 
something and began to sing. Humped-wolf saw another person coming, 
whom he recognized as a Dakota. The first man sang against the 
Dakota, who was armed with bow and arrow, a knife, and a tomahawk 
at his belt. When he had done singing, he went towards the Dakota and 
held his shield in front of him. The Dakota was ready to shoot his arrows 
and let one fly. It struck the shield, broke, and fell to the ground. He 
dropped his bow and arrows, took his tomahawk, came up to the Crow, 
and struck at the edge of the shield. His tomahawk broke. He took out 
his knife. The shield-bearer stepped back, then started towards him 
again. When the Dakota made a motion as if to stab him, he threw the 
shield in front of him, and the knife touching the shield was broken. 
Then the Crow jumped aside, stabbed the enemy's breast with a lance, 
and killed him. Then Humped-wolf looked and saw that it was a 
coyote. "You shall be the same," said the visitant. 

Humped-wolf went toward his camp. The rest of the survivors 
of his war party had returned to camp and told the Crow that Humped- 
wolf had been shot in the leg and left behind. The people mourned for 
him. When he arrived, he summoned all the older men to his tipi and 
told them his vision. He described it and told them he liked it. "Make 
it," they said. One of them asked, "Have you any songs (dicu-wici)V 
"Yes." "Sing." He sang the following : — 

bap' hiri at bicit, bik' barawarawik'. arQut 

Whenever there is any trouble, I shall not die but get through. Arrows 

ahii'ta, bOwik'. barase batsek". 

many though there be, I shall arrive. My heart is manly. 

The man who asked for the songs had no faith in Humped-wolf 's vision 
and said, "You had better look for safety." 

Humped-wolf made what he had seen. Riding a dark bay horse, he 
accompanied a war party. On the day they set out from camp the 
enemy attacked them. Making the rest of the company lie in a coulee, 



l This is the visitant. 



1922.] Louie, Religion of the Crow. 411 

he alone fought the enemy and killed several of them. He was shot by 
the enemy, so were some of those who hid. The Dakota ceased fighting 
and thus spoke to Humped-wolf : "Go home, you are no good, have your 
will of the women and rejoice." They meant that he was a man. They 
did not pursue the Crow, who came back with none of them slain. Some 
of the enemy had been killed and scalped. Then the Crow liked this 
man and the whole camp knew about him. Whenever he went with a 
war party, the enemy always attacked them. He always fought alone 
and was always shot, but sometimes some of the party were killed in- 
cidentally. When the Crow discovered that parties he accompanied 
were attacked by the enemy, captains did not like him to go along. They 
recollected his song and said, "He was to fight, he is always giving 
trouble." 

A man was setting out as captain for the first time. He had many 
brothers; they were not good people but were always looking for a fight. 
When Humped-wolf tried to accompany them as before, they turned back, 
saying he was no good. When they had been out four days, he overtook 
them, thinking they would not turn back after having traveled for four 
days. They said, "What are you coming for? You are no good. We 
are not very good captains, we are just going to try. Turn back, or we 
shall beat you. We give you only this choice : turn back, or if you don't 
we shall beat you." They went on. He asked them to beat him once 
and he would go with them. All surrounded him and beat him till one 
of the party who was not a brother of the captain asked them to desist. 
Humped-wolf was covered with blood. He rose to a sitting posture and 
said, "If you achieve something good, I'll be in it; if you are all killed, 
I too shall be killed." They bade him turn back lest they kill him and 
went on. 

Humped-wolf sat there, thinking of the man who had adopted him, 
though his medicine was worthless, and cried, "If it had not been for 
my medicine, I should have gone with the party." After they were all 
out of sight, he considered whether to turn back or follow the party, not 
knowing what to do. While he was sitting there crying, he heard hooting 
and whooping and someone was saying, "Humped-wolf is nearby." 
The party ran towards him and said, "The enemy came and drove us 
back." He said, "You did not like me. I could have joined the enemy, 
but because I am a Crow I did not do it." He put up his blanket in a 
heap and ran around. He bade the war party get behind him. The 
enemy surrounded him. They fought from early in the morning till 
sunset. He made gestures to the Dakota. "Bring me some water; I 



412 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

am very thirsty. If you don't do it, I'll go for water myself and follow 
you to your main camp, fighting you all summer until winter." The 
Dakota brought some water and left it at a distance for him to take it. 
They told him to go home, that he was no good and should have his will 
of women. "Quam maxime penem insere," aiunt. They returned to 
the rest of the party, who had hidden in a coulee. They now liked him 
and treated him well. He was shot all over and was not feeling veiy well ; 
some of his teeth had been knocked out. They got to a river on the way 
home. His wounds smarted. The captain asked, "Wiry did you turn 
back?" "My leg smarts, that is why." The captain told the warriors 
to carry him across the water. He refused to be carried. "We'll do it 
nevertheless." He remembered the time they had beaten him and asked 
the captain, "How many times did you strike me?" "I did not count, 
but it was many times." "About how many?" "About ten times." 
There were large stones in the creek and the water was flowing very 
swiftly. He asked the captain to carry him across, and the captain alone 
lifted him on his back. When he got to the middle of the creek, the water 
was almost up to his waist. He slipped on a stone, fell, and both floated 
downstream. There was a whirlpool just below and they could not get 
out, but the captain was pulled out by his brothers; they left Humped- 
wolf in there and proceeded homeward. He had been shot in the arms, 
so he could not swim but climbed a log and floated on it till night, 
crying continually. About dawn he saw a black object approaching. He 
wished it were an enemy coming to kill him. It was singing medicine 
songs. It said, "Child, I am coming to see you, we'll do it again." It 
was the man he had seen coming from the east in his vision. "I made a 
mistake," said the visitant. "I asked you before why you were grieving; 
you answered that you had been chased and shot by the enemy. That is 
what I have given you, that they should never chase you. The Dakota 
have bidden you go home and have your will of the women, they always 
bade you go to camp. Henceforth give no help to war parties, help the 
camp. The Dakota and Cheyenne have driven you away and captured 
your people." He was still floating on the log. "Get up, come." He 
thought to himself. "How can I rise and walk?" "Get up and come." 
He made an effort to rise and the water was hard, so he stood up. He 
walked on it and got to this man. He told him to go home. "Make this 
medicine for your children and brothers, your having it alone is bad." 
Humped- wolf proceeded without pains of any sort. The rest of the party 
had returned and reported him drowned. The people had been mourning 
for him. Henceforth he stayed in camp. He must have been about forty 



1922. 



Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 41c* 



years of age then and had owned the medicine for a long time and 
achieved great deeds. This was about 173 or 174 years ago (sicl) The 
people were staying between Powder River and the site of Columbus, 
Montana. 

Humped-wolf had three sons, and his two sisters had two sons each. 
Early one morning he told his wife to take everything out erf his tipi. 
He sent for his four nephews (itsuke, younger brothers or a man's sister's 
sons 1 ) who sat down beside him, while his three sons were on the opposite 
side ' To the one next to him Humped-wolf said, "I'll give you a name — 
White-young-buffalo (tdpkaricta-tsioc) ." To the next one he said, 'Til 
name you Full-mouth-buffalo." To the third he said, "I'll call you Bull- 
always-living (tsirup-dawic)." To the fourth he said, "I'll call you 
"Buffalo-walks-to^the-river." Of his sons he named the first Colored- 
fur referring to the yellowish or reddish color some calves are born with; 
the second, Buffalo-with-high-withers; the third, Small-backed-bull. 
He asked them all whether they were satisfied with their names and they 
said "Yes " "Don't go out on war parties. The rest of the Crow are 
mem they can go out and look out for themselves. Look after the 
children and women in camp. The camp has been attacked, and women 
and children have been captured by the enemy. When you are there, 
this will happen no more." Then he told them all about his medicine 
and told them to go out and seek some medicine of their own. 

They went out. The first nephew was looking for something on a 
hill at the junction of the Rotten Grass and the Bighorn. He did not gel 
what his uncle had wanted. He reported as follows : "A jack-rabbit came 
to me and told me not to take the medicine because you have always 
been shot, He said to me, "You shall be a chief without trouble; old 
people are poor; you shall grow up and die without trouble or sorrow. 
Humped-wolf replied, "You have erred. A person wants to get enough ol 
life I will not make this medicine for you." The second nephew re- 
ported: "I did not get anything. While I was seeking medicine, a bob- 
cat and two different kinds of hawk came to me. They said, 'The animal 
that gave him the medicine is heavy, we are more powerful, don t take its 
medicine You will be liked by all the Crow and shall die without trouble 
or sorrow. Old age is bad, old people have no teeth or eyes.' I do not 
want your medicine." Humped-wolf answered, "Not all the people on 
this earth desire to die forthwith." The third nephew reported as fol- 
lows- "While I was seeking a vision, a hawk came to me on a chit and 



1 Lowie, this series, vol. 21, 60. 



414 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

said, 'I'll make you help your people. The owner of the medicine you 
are about to take has always been shot. Old age is not good. He has had 
to suffer a great deal of trouble. When you are shot, your body shall not 
be penetrated. You shall do whatever you please in battle.' " Humped- 
wolf spoke to his three nephews thus: "I wanted to live with you a long- 
time, but you will not." 

The fourth nephew, Full-mouth-buffalo, said that he had brought 
the medicine: "I am like (?) the rest of these, but have a different way. 
I don't know what it is, but I saw a vision and was told to fight. It was 
the sacred Tobacco (i'tsi'tsid). On the return trip I was caught by a bear. 
He lifted me up so that I could see all the earth. He made me touch his 
teeth; he had none at all. 'You may jump among high cliffs or do what 
you please,' said he, 'you cannot die. When you have no more teeth and 
all your hair is white, you shall fall asleep without awaking. You'll 
have a good death, so don't be afraid of anything. When we are in 
trouble, that is what makes men of us.' " Humped-wolf replied: "You 
have done well. Those three are like the plants. They will grow up a 
while and then wither. Had I been in their place, I should have taken 
the medicine you obtained and also the one I am about to give you." 
His three sons all brought what he had asked them to bring. He made 
the medicine for them. The first three nephews did not get either Full- 
mouth's or Humped-wolf 's medicine, but only what they had themselves 
seen. 

When Humped-wolf had made the medicine for his three sons and 
the last of his nephews, he bade them sit down. The camp had separated 
into distinct bands in the wintertime. He said, "When the whole camp is 
engaged in a fight, help the tribe and keep the enemy from taking cap- 
tives." "Yes, we'll do this." "I am slow (ahokdtdk), I am heavy; no 
matter what happens, I have no place to run to. When you wish to flee, 
remember this and you'll remain strong and brave." "Yes," they 
answered. "When all the people are hungry and you bring buffalo, give 
meat to the poor. Look out and scout for the camp, look for buffalo, 
move the camp to where there are buffalo. Treat your people well, die 
for them. Be men for your people, don't fight with them. If they dis- 
pute with you, don't mind it, treat them well. If they strike you, do 
not hit them back. Have you heard what I said?" "Yes." 

One of the bands that had separated was almost completely de- 
stroyed by the enemy. All the Crow got together in a camp circle. 
Full-mouth's father had two wives, and each of them had a son with a 
month's difference in their ages. These boys had grown up and loved 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 415 

each other. Thus there was an eighth man to go out. This brother of 
Full-mouth was called Wants-to-die (cSce), though his real name was 
Owl-head. Full-mouth had a horse nicknamed Face-on-both-sides, 
which name was subsequently transferred to himself. Bull-always- 
living frequently changed the painting on his face, for which reason he 
was called Play s- wit h-his-f ace. Buffalo-walks-to-the-river, while look- 
ing for some woman, passed a bevy and looked for a woman where there 
were none; hence he was called Passes-the- woman. 

The enemy had killed a man and his child; the mother was alive. 
Wants-to-die and Face-on-both-sides were camping in the middle of the 
circle. The Crow liked these two, knowing that they could get help 
from them; that is why they were camped in the center. The mourning 
woman went round the camp crying and saying, "The Dakota have 
killed my husband and child, who is going to kill one of them for me?" 
After a while she got to the two central lodges and walked round them. 
"Who is going to kill a Dakota for me? If no one will kill one, I'll be 
miserable." She went to Face-on-both-sides' lodge, saying, "You have a 
body and you are still here. I wish you would kill a Dakota for me, no 
one else can kill one, you are the only one who can do it." She went and 
pressed his head, as was the custom then. His father said, "You have 
done wrong, you are going to make my son die. You ought to have stayed 
outside wailing." She went outside. Face-on-both-sides said to his 
father, "Don't worry. I shall not die during your lifetime. I'll die as a 
very old man, don't worry about me." He called Wants-to-die, who was 
in the next tent. "At this very moment we have a good thing. There are 
plenty of men but she has come to us, and it is well. Bring six others, 
bring the old man (Humped- wolf) also." The old woman prepared good 
food for the visitors. "Why have you sent for us?" asked the old man. 
"You told us not to go on war parties, but a woman has asked us to kill 
one of the Dakota. Will you let us go?" "How are you going to kill 
Dakota without going anywhere? I told you to help the children and 
women. A child has been killed, a woman has asked you for help, that is 
why I want you to help." The Dakota camp was close, and it was large. 
Of the other tribes they were not afraid. Face-on-both-sides said to 
Humped-wolf, "We'll start this evening, I'll go with you." It was in 
the morning. "Go home now and get your horses, we'll go with any- 
one who wants to join. Go out and herald that we are going to sing 
(actti-wawardxbdk')." 1 The old man heralded. Face-on-both-sides 



'A special kind of singing is referred to. 



416 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

was very anxious, he did not eat. He sent for the old man, who entered 
his tipi. "What is the matter, Face-on-both-sides?" "I feel like crying, 
yet I also feel like singing Big Dog and medicine songs." "Your medicine 
is anxious too, that is why." "Paint me up." He did so, also painting 
his horse. Face-on-both-sides used all the medicine he had as he was 
riding his horse. He cried, "A woman and children, who are timid, 
have been killed by the Dakota, who have captured some. They alone 
want to be men; they do not consider us, the Crow, men. Sun, if I die to- 
day, it will be well. Whenever they have killed children and women, I 
always grieve. If I die for my people, it will be well." He went round 
the circle and returned to his own tipi. Everyone cried as he went round 
crying. He went round again, singing the Big Dog songs. The women 
cheered him. He got back to his own tipi, then went round again, sing- 
ing the medicine songs. "There is only one man, Face-on-both-sides; 
I am he. I am among the Crow. There is none among the Dakota. I 
am your helper. Remember me when you have a hard time. Tomorrow 
I'll kill an enemy, from now on I'll keep on killing them." When he 
got back to his tipi, all his brothers and the old man were there. The old 
man said, "This is what I have brought you up for, for the time when 
the Crow tribe would come to you for aid." 

That night they sang and then set out. A great many went along, 
there must have been about a thousand. They traveled on till they 
saw the Dakota camp. They stayed there all night. A Dakota captive 
escaped from the Crow to the Dakota camp and warned them, so no 
Dakota ventured out. The following day the old man spoke as follows : 
"This is a fine day. Your mother must have been waiting for you, 
thinking you were going to bring a Dakota scalp. When a woman gives 
birth, it takes her a long time and she does not know whether she will 
live or not. You have it easy, the camp is right there. Mount your 
horses and go, there is nothing to hold you back. When you get there, 
you will either be killed or will kill an enemy. Let me know how your 
heart is (what you think)." Face-on-both-sides rose and said: "My 
people, I am going to speak. Listen to me. Now you are miserable, you 
are weak. Go home and wait for me on a high hill this side of the Crow 
camp. When you have been gone a long time, then I'll kill an enemy; 
otherwise the enemy might overtake you too." They did what he told 
them to do. Then he spoke to the old man: "Where are your nephews 
and your sons today? To all of us you spoke, where are the rest? Have 
they heard or not? You ought to have spoken to me alone that time, 
there was no use speaking to the others. This is all." Wants-to-die 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 417 

said, "I am going to speak; listen. I heard what this old man said when 
he spoke to his nephews and sons. He wanted to make men of his 
nephews and sons. I am going to excel them. Let us all mount our 
horses. When I am old, I shall die. I will die at any time; I want to find 
out how it is. It is like going up over a divide." He sang this song: — 
bak'Otsi'te awaxe awgrak; baxaria kawa+uk". batsirfreta. 

Eternal (are) the heavens and the earth; old people are bad. Do not be afraid. 

All mounted their horses. One man named Tears-the-tipi said, 
"They are not the only men, I am a man too, I'll be the one to kill an 
enemy." The old man answered, "Thanks, you are doing well. I was 
wishing that some of the other men might help my nephews and sons. 
You have done it and I want you to keep it up." All, including this man, 
stood in line and Humped-wolf behind. The bulk of the people had 
departed long ago. The old man said, "Full-mouth, 1 what you have 
shown me I will do today. Wherever you are, you will know. Give 
your power to Face-on-both-sides, I want him to get through in safety. 
I will go, I am old and shall be tired." Then he left them. They bade 
him go faster; they were going to kill the enemy when he had gone far 
away. 

When he had departed, Young-white-buffalo proposed a plan. 
"When we kill, do not take a scalp. They won't believe us, they'll 
think we did not kill anyone if they see no scalp. The one who scalps 
shall be the first to strike. If we only strike the Dakota, we shall not 
have it." 2 "All right," they said, "you have a good plan." They 
mounted and set out towards the camp. There were nine of them. A 
coulee extended to the camp. They proceeded without halting till 
Tears-the-tipi bade them stop. "I thought you were going to kill. If 
you act as now, they will chase you and kill you all. I don't want to be 
in it." "We'll go right into the camp." Tears-the-tipi said he would 
turn back. "You may go." He turned and went. Near the camp he 
halted and sang his medicine song. The coulee ran through the camp. 
They went right up to the edge of the camp. There on top of the bank a 
woman was dressing a hide. Face-on-both-sides said, "No one has 
left the camp, so we'll kill that one." Plays-with-his-face said, "You are 
no persons, I'll be the one to scalp." Passes-the-woman answered, "You 
are not of much account, I'll be the one to scalp." Face-on-both-sides 
said, "Thank you. I thought I should be the one to scalp, I did not know 
you two were." When 300 yards within camp, they saw a man coming 

•This refers to his visitant. 

2 This paragraph is obscurely worded. 



418 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

out wearing a blanket. They said, "There is a man coming, we'll kill 
him." He went some distance to ease himself. The eight men ran 
towards him. He rose and started back to camp without cleaning him- 
self. At the door of his tipi they were upon him, but instead of entering 
he went toward the center of the circle. They shot and killed him and 
fell upon him. The Dakota had been expecting the Crow and were 
already shooting at them. Play s-with-his-f ace scalped the man, his 
companions ran away, and his horse with them. Thus he was left all 
alone in the camp circle. Everything looked high to him, and it seemed 
to him as though he were standing in a hollow. He did not know whether 
he was walking or running, but followed in the direction of his friends. 
The fugitives saw his horse and looking back saw him alone in the 
center of the hostile camp with the enemy surrounding him and shooting 
at him. 

Wants-to-die caught Play s-with-his-f ace's horse and took it to him. 
He passed him and threw him the reins so that they hung over his 
shoulder. All this time the enemy were shooting at him. He seized the 
reins and jumped on the horse. They ran through the camp. The 
Dakota were in pursuit. When they got out of the camp they turned 
and drove the enemy back, then they ran back. There were two parallel 
coulees. They ran along one, then turned off to the other and went in the 
reverse direction, so that the enemy were going the opposite way. The 
Crow said, "They have killed a child, so we'll kill one of their children." 
"All right." They ran into camp. A boy was running from one lodge to 
another. Wants-to-die struck him in the temple with an ax and Plays- 
with-his-face dismounted and scalped him; then they fled. They gal- 
loped till night. When they returned to the rest of their party, these said, 
"We thought you had been killed by this time and were going to mourn." 
The old man rejoiced and sang praise songs. The next morning they 
returned to the Crow camp. 

Thereafter the Crow were never driven back by the Dakota, since 
that medicine was with them, but they repelled the Dakota. These men 
each had one shield of the same kind, but those who had visions of their 
own dressed a little differently. 

Various Medicine Objects. 
Though sacred objects were almost uniformly derived from revela- 
tions ultimately, many individuals owned medicines which they had 
merely bought from the original visionary or even second-hand from 
another purchaser. When a person saw another man prospering on the 



1922. 



Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 



419 



acquisition of some medicine, he would be tempted to acquire the 
medicine also in order to share the owner's success. In such cases the 
visionary made copies for the buyers to the number of four; with the 
fourth replica he lost his property rights. Below I enumerate a miscel- 
lany of medicines concerning some of which no detailed information was 
obtained, but which serve to suggest the total range of relevant ideas. 

In 1910 I bought a 'big weasel' (n"te 
istite) medicine from a Pryor Indian. It 
consisted of a weaselskin stuffed with 
buffalo hair (Fig. 7). The seller told me 
that it had once been owned by a famous 
warrior, who would unwrap it when on an 
expedition, smoke it with incense, and 
hold it toward the hostile camp. 

Some men tied both ears and the tail 
of a jack-rabbit to the back of their head 
when going to tight and also put green 
paint on their face from the lower lip 
down to the chin. Charges-camp had 
nothing to tie to his body in battle, but 
regarded the dog as his medicine and 
would sing dog songs when fighting. 
Lone-pine had a stuffed white-headed 
eagle for his war medicine; attached to 
it and worn round the neck was a whistle 
without a hole but which the owner was 
able to blow in making medicine. Where- 
the-sun-sits (ax'ace-arawatsic) used a 
stuffed magpie with iron eyes and horse- 
hair in the beak to take the lead in war. Another man, who had had a 
vision of a gun, would smoke incense at the end of the gun, point it and 
say, "I should like you to hit the enemy and break his backbone or 
head." When he struck an enemy, he would break his spine. Dung- 
face used a common stick for his war medicine and was a successful 
warrior; the stick was called tpace (marrow-pumper?). Another 
captain used a 7natsdpudte (birch?) stick with five or six prongs at the 
top, each tipped with magpie tails and decorated with red plumes at the 
bottom. Unlike other medicines, this one was never wrapped up but 
kept exposed. 




Fig. 7 (50.1-3995). War Medicine. 



420 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Bull-all-the-time received various medicines from an old shaman in- 
cluding a stuffed chicken-hawk (ba-\-i'puctsid) and a hoop (niaxe) wrapped 
with otterskin and decorated with eagle feathers. My informant used 
the hoop in war with great success. He accompanied General Miles and 
destroyed a whole Shoshoni camp, killed two Dakota on his next venture, 
stole horses from the Flathead on another occasion, and later recovered 
horses and saddles from thieving Dakota, — all through the medicines 
received. When he destroyed the enemy's camp, Bull-all-the-time pre- 
sented the shaman with two horses; when he came home empty-handed, 
he did not give him anything. 

Bull-tongue showed me his war medicine consisting of one male and 
one female hawk (isd'tsise). He tied the male to his own head, and the 
female to some other person's in battle; the wearer would take a gun 
and strike a coup. This medicine was made for my informant by his 
father-in-law. Bull-tongue regards the female as more sacred because 
he sees it in dreams showing him the next winter or some other season. 
He does not really see the bird in his dreams, yet he feels that it is the 
female, not the male, that shows him the next season. 

A visionary once made a coyote medicine for Gray-bull and pro- 
phesied what he would do against the enemy, e.g., "You will meet an 
enemy in such and such a place and kill him," or he might describe the 
kind of horse my informant would capture. All his predictions came 
true. Another medicine secured by my informant consisted of a tooth 
from the skull of White-cub, the greatest of Crow shamans, who had 
been killed. One of his teeth was kept for medicine and Gray-bull got 
it. Whenever he went out with it, White-cub would always speak to 
him so that he was afraid of it. He always advised Gray-bull what to do. 
Soon after getting the tooth, my informant went on an expedition and 
put it over his bed. It made a noise, saying several times, "They are 
coming!" The other members of the party were terrified and ran into a 
little shelter. They asked, "What is the matter? We heard your medi- 
cine speaking." Gray-bull was the only one who understood about it and 
said that about dawn a man would come close to their resting-place, he 
did not know whether a Crow or an enemy. At dawn a Dakota was seen 
near by and driven off, Gray-bull capturing his horse and all his belong- 
ings. A number of Crow horses had been stolen by Dakota, and these 
were recovered. Gray-bull used his medicine on four expeditions. 

A maternal uncle of Gray-bull's gave him a bird tail to be tied to 
his head when fighting; attached to the tail was the head of a bird and 
a piece of beaded buckskin was sewed to it. Gray-bull paid a horse 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 421 

and other property for it. The same kinsman gave him a necklace con- 
sisting of beads and bird claws. This was supposed to be connected 
with the Moon, and subsequently Gray-bull had a dream in which the 
Moon appeared and gave him a song (p. 321). His uncle had not given 
him a song with the necklace because he himself had not had a vision of 
the Moon. Gray-bull was a young man and a scout at the time of this 
experience. It happened sometimes that a man would dream about a 
medicine after receiving it; sometimes men would take a medicine 
after acquiring it and fast with it, so as to get a revelation. For this 
medicine Gray-bull did not pay anything. 

A crescent-shaped brass breast ornament, though apparently also 
connected with the Moon and received from the same uncle, is regarded 
as a distinct medicine. Gray-bull lost the original and made three 
copies. It did not matter since the Moon knew him. He was the third 
man to own this medicine. Old-crow had a brass full-moon for his medi- 
cine; when he went out as captain, he would dream the position of the 
enemy but did not see the Moon herself. 

Several informants mentioned a war medicine carried on the back 
that was called irid, after the dart used in the hoop game (batsik'isud) . It 
was wrapped in black cloth, had feathers at the end, and lacked the white 
clay painted at intervals on the irid used in playing the game. White- 
arm described it as a stick of some wood resembling the mastipudte 
and about three feet long. At the center was a sea-shell (maxftxe) orna- 
ment; between it and either tip there was this succession of decorative 
appendages: red plumes (ma-{-6ce), magpie tail feathers, red plumes, and 
at the end a weaselskin fringe. 

According to White-arm this irid was discovered by Long-otter when 
he was mourning the death of a daughter on a peak on the other side of 
Bozeman. Some being had seen him before he fell asleep; it was seated 
under a pine tree with this medicine over it. The man rose, took the 
frid, laid it on the ground, unwrapped it, sang a song, and threw the 
stick, naming some country. It fell there, and Long-otter heard praise- 
songs and words of thanks. Then the visitant sang a praise-song and 
walked to the mountain top. Long-otter returned to camp, not knowing 
whether he had been sleeping or not. Everything he saw came true. His 
visitant was an eagle. Long-otter made three or four copies after his 
vision. 

Looks-at-a-bull's-penis is also credited with a vision of the irid. 
He once went out fasting, but could not endure the hardships for more 



422 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

than three days, when he returned. Then Cunning-man 1 gave him in- 
structions. He told him to put on new clothes, also to make a sweatlodge 
before sunrise and to leave camp as soon as possible when he wanted to 
go for a vision. Whenever he returned from a quest thereafter, Cunning- 
man went to him and asked whether he had seen anything, but he had 
nothing to tell. Once he went again, going up the same hill as before, 
and stayed three days and nights. Then at sunset he saw an irid, and 
returned on the fourth evening. Cunning-man again visited him and 
asked, "Has anything happened yet?" He told what he had seen. At 
that time he was so poor that he was obliged to walk. Cunning-man said, 
"What you have seen is a great thing." 

The people moved to the site of Yellow-crane's present dwelling 
place and camped there. Several men went up the mountains. Looks- 
at-a-bull's-penis went lower down, fasting two days. In a dream he was 
told to come this way. When the would-be visionaries returned, all 
built sudatories, sweated themselves, and told what they had experienced. 
Looks-at-a-bull's-penis said that nothing had happened to him except 
that he had been told to go in a certain direction. He went and stayed 
there for three days. He was shown a place where there was light. He 
came home and saw another vision. He saw a spot up the creek near 
Lodge Grass canyon and a child-woman there. Returning after a few 
days he came near Black Canyon. His first vision had been anfn'a but he 
had not understood it. Now he stayed for three days, dreamt, and under- 
stood the irid. He saw the child-woman again. He returned and after a 
few days set out with five men for another revelation. He said to him- 
self, "Now I will try to stay four days." He stayed four days and was 
always on the point of starvation. A hawk (ma+ipxdxe) adopted him, 
then he returned home. He walked slowly from weakness. A bear 
jumped up and caught him. He thought he was being killed, but the 
bear held him up and asked whether he could see all the world. "Yes." 
Then the bear said, "Put your fingers into my mouth." The bear had no 
teeth. 

The woman he had seen in a vision was married by one of Looks-at-a- 
bull's-penis's brothers, who was killed the following year. His widow 
was with child and gave birth to Medicine-crow. Looks-at-a-bull's- 
penis married the widow. The light he had seen in his vision was a 
bacdritsi'tse (see p. 385). 



'This volume, 256 seq. 



1922.] Loivie, Religion of the Crow. 423 

Looks-at-a-biuTs-penis made an iris and called all the children to 
make them touch it and pray to it. He built a sweatlodge, bade the 
children bring firewood, and made them sweat. Then none of them died 
young and they grew up increasing the population. When he saw big 
birds up in the air, he would make medicine and they would come down 
to him forthwith. He had frogs for his batsirape. He had medicine to 
make horses run fast. People with race horses would give him four 
presents so that he might make their horses swift. He made hawk- 
medicine for Medicine-crow, who was subsequently also adopted by a 
hawk in a vision. Looks-at-a-bull's-penis was a member of the Tobacco 
society and would make the Tobacco grow by making medicine with isk. 

A war medicine of some consequence, part of which was secured by 
Mr. Simms of the Field Museum in Chicago, is called batsipe, Digging- 
stick. It is derived from the witch Hicictawig 1 and consists of a number 
of sticks, of which the largest is decorated with a lightning line; the 
smaller sticks were kept out of sight. This medicine was carried by the 
captain of war parties. According to Flat-head-woman, it was made by 
the owner of the Sacred Arrow (p. 391). Another informant says that 
Takes-twice first saw the batsipe in a vision granted by Hicictawia, 
that Duritec (Humpback) made the specimen owned by Whinnies, and 
that Robert Raise-up must have sold the medicine to Mr. Simms. 

Dr. J. A. Mason of the Field Museum has kindly sent me the follow- 
ing detailed description of the bundle — 

The principal stick is 1 m. long and 3 cm. wide at the head, 2% cm. wide in the 
middle. It is entirely covered with red ocher. The lower end comes to a rather blunt 
point, while the upper end consists of three rings. At this end there are tied with 
thongs of buckskin seven pendent eagle feathers also covered with red ocher. The 
length of the stick is incised with a zigzag line consisting of just about a hundred 
angles. On the opposite side there is a crude representation of two arms and hands 
incised, as you will see in the enclosed rubbing. Then there are three plain sticks 
about 1 cm. in width and covered with red ocher. They range from 103 to 107 cms. 
in length. There are four sticks about 88 cm. long and 1 cm. wide, well-rounded and 
covered with ocher. The lower end is pointed, while the upper end is left in two bands 
which still retain the natural bark, evidently a cherry, to which stick are tied with 
buckskin thongs two pendent eagle feathers which have been dyed purple and then 
covered with red ocher. On each stick one feather is complete, while the other feather 
has been stripped for half its length. In each case there are smaller red feathers 
attached to the base of the large feather. The last stick is like these latter, except 
that it is shorter, 69 cm. long, and apparently made from a manufactured turned and 
varnished rod. 



'This volume, 128, 204. 



424 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

When leading war parties Gray-bull took with him the skin of a bur- 
rowing animal, decorated with numerous woodpecker feathers. A piece 
of wood was attached to the back, and on the ventral side there was a ring 
of beads representing a hoop. Two strings served to tie the medicine 
round the neck. Hawk-bells and an elk tooth below formed additional 
decorative features. During horse raids Gray-bull used another medi- 
cine, which he showed me. It consisted of a buffalo-skin representation 
of a horse, supplied with strings so it could be tied round the neck. 

MAGIC. 

With a people who stress to so great an extent as the Crow the im- 
portance of visions and the aid supplied by the supernatural guardians 
appearing on such occasions it is difficult to divorce magical from ani- 
mistic practices. That is to say, a certain procedure resembling the 
magical performance of other peoples may ultimately derive its efficacy 
from the revelations of a spirit. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that 
to some extent imitative magic is used without a clear-cut spiritual asso- 
ciation. Thus, at the close of the Tobacco adoption ceremony all spec- 
tators raise aloft whatever they are holding in their hands and this sym- 
bolizes the growth of the Tobacco. So, in the account of sorcery under 
the head of shamanism (p. 345) the employment of imitative magic in 
conjunction with reliance on animistic aid has already been pointed out. 
Altogether, however, it may safely be stated that pure magic occupies a 
very subordinate position in Crow life as contrasted with activities 
based on visionary experiences. Such performances of weather magic as 
are attributed to Lone-tree and Big-ox (p. 344) are explicitly or implicitly 
derived from their guardian spirits. Perhaps the bacoritsi'tse form the 
most important case of a group of objects not ordinarily revealed in 
visions and possessing powers independently of spirits. 

Bull-tongue showed me a stick used to attract women. It was over 
a foot long and was decorated with buffalo hair twice that length ; near 
the bottom of the stick there was a dewclaw on each side. The owner 
carried this implement in dances, using it as a fan. Unfortunately I did 
not ascertain whence the stick derived its power, but from all I have 
learned concerning Crow notions I feel convinced that it must have been 
revealed in a vision. 

This was certainly true of the majority of love-charming methods. 
The term duck'tio, also used for casting an evil spell in other connections 
(p. 345), is specifically employed for love-charming. Charming a woman 
is called bid-ruck' uo and a woman who charms a man is designated as 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 425 

ak-batsk-ruck' ud. Both in legend and in every-day life the elk is credited 
with taking pity on a man spurned by a woman and endowing him with 
irresistible powers of fascination. 1 Sometimes a tangible substance is 
given to the visionary to attract his mistress, e.g., different kinds of 
perfume or moss and an eagle plume, or elk dewclaws strung together 
and attached to a little sweetgrass. In revenge for his mistress's cruelty 
the legendary lover is represented as repudiating her after having gained 
his ends. At Pryor I saw a robe of elk hide on which was depicted a female 
elk in front of a male. This blanket, I was told, had been dreamt by a 
man eager to possess a woman who had spurned him. After going to the 
mountains and praying, he saw the robe in a vision and subsequently 
captivated the girl with it. 

A woman deserted by her husband might go in quest of a vision and 
receive instructions. She might be told to burn incense and smoke her 
clothing with it; also to use certain songs and then walk toward her 
husband. These words were given as typical of such songs: — 
frak bat sec htlrflm, awaka hureke. 

That man is coming, I see him coming. 

According to one informant the woman receives a special weed-medicine 
to be incensed and it is its odor that compels the husband to come to her. 
Then other women will come to her when in similar difficulties and ask 
for doses of the same medicine. 



!This volume. 191, 196. 



OFFERINGS AND PRAYERS. 

The Sun is preeminently the recipient of offerings and the object of 
supplication. In the old days a man setting out on a war party would 
say to the Sun : "If I bring something back, I will give you eagle feathers." 
Sometimes fox hides and later red cloths were substituted. The latter 
were always decorated with a black circle and usually a bunch of broad- 
leafed sagebrush was tied to the cloth together with a horse's tail. There 
was first a gathering of about ten persons in a tipi, and about sunrise they 
would begin to sing, singing four songs. When they had done, they took 
the cloth out, brought little children over to where they were holding it 
and made them touch it, the children themselves voicing the wish that 
they might live till the next winter. 

The sweatlodge is generally conceived as a Sun offering, and all 
albino buffalo skins were ceremonially given to this supernatural being. 

The presentation of a white buffalo to the Sun is already mentioned 
by Maximilian. 1 It was described by a number of informants. Three- 
wolves said that the Crow sometimes encountered a yearling buffalo 
calf, white either on the back or heart or tail. The man who killed such a 
calf went home without touching it, gave a present to one of his father's 
clansmen, and told him he had slain a white calf. The father's clans- 
man would go out, locate the calf, which invariably fell with its face 
towards the east, 2 and skin it carefully so as not to cut the hide, which 
was then turned over very slowly. The meat was not touched at all, for 
it was said, "If you eat of the meat, your hair will turn gray prematurely." 
The father's clansman took the hide to camp, singing a song in praise of 
his clansman's son and praying that this man might have good luck. 
Then he would take the hide to one of his father's clansmen, saying, "I 
have brought you this hide for you to offer it to the Sun." The old man 
would take the skin, tie it to a long pole, carry it through camp with a 
laudatory chant, and say, "I shall offer this to the Sun; I want everybody 
in camp to touch this hide." He went from the camp towards sunrise, 
planted the stick into the ground, and said, "Sun, I have given you a 
blanket." Then he prayed for coups or horses, or that his relatives 
should live to the next season without illness. He might say, "The 
people have done a great thing in giving you this, they wish for ..." 
Usually only old people asked for gifts. Four offering songs without 
words were sung. This offering was made just before sunrise. 



'Maximilian, Prinz zu Wiecl, Reisc in das innere Nord-Amerira in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834 
(Coblenz, 1841), vol. 1, 401. 

2 This is confirmed by all other informants. 

426 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 427 

Gray -bull recollected an albino buffalo that was killed near Hardin, 
Montana; it was the fastest buffalo in the herd and when a hunter 
crossed its tracks, his horse would be exhausted. On this occasion the 
man who usually made Sun offerings was not of the party, hence the 
leader himself made the offering. The hunters counted coup on the white 
buffalo and the four coup-strikers ate the kidney, no other part of the 
flesh being touched. Gray-bull struck the second coup and got a piece 
of the kidney; holding both hind legs he wished that he might capture a 
gun, get an enemy's body, and strike a second coup. That autumn the 
Crow killed some Piegan, and Gray-bull struck a coup, got an enemy's 
bod}' and gun, and also captured a medicine pipe; the last-mentioned he 
got without having prayed for it. 

Gray-bull distinguishes an albino buffalo, bict-\-ictse, and a yellow 
buffalo with a black spot on the back, nlkawate; instead of having the 
black circle, the latter sometimes was black from the sides down. The 
ndkawate were usually calves. The ceremonies for white and yellow 
buffaloes were alike. The songs used with them differed from those sung 
in offering red cloth. 

One informant said that the killer of an albino buffalo rode home 
with the skin in front of him, singing praise songs, and presented the 
hide to the chief, who painted pictures of the sun and the rainbow on 
the back and tied a plume to the tail. At daybreak he sang a song, telling 
the Sun of the offering, attached it to a high pole, and placed it on a hill, 
where it was left to fall; no one would touch it thereafter. 

Sitting-elk said that only a medicineman was permitted to skin an 
albino buffalo. The skin was suspended from an ash or cottonwood pole. 

I secured two versions of the prayer uttered at the formal presenta- 
tion of an albino skin to the Sun : — 



ax'ac£, disaace dfawak'. bare-arnbiraxbak'e itsi. bak'ate, 

Sun your robe I make. Our way of living good (may it be). The children, 

biraxbak'e itsik'ate d'tsipare ahui-matsik'. 

the people peacefully (may they) multiply and be plentiful. 

2. 
kahe, masa'ka, kan-disaace diawahik. kam-bari'k'u, 

Greeting, father's clansman, now your robe I have just made. Now I give it to you, 

k'ok'. ambibiraxbake itsia mak'u. bac-birax bak'e itse awirupe 

this is it. My way of living good give me. My people (object) safely the next year 

awawi. bac-bak'ate a'tsipari, barak' duxirek'ate 

I shall reach with them. My children may they increase, my sons when on the warpath 

itsfrik'ate arfio, barak' diixire fse cipfta 

horses (may they) bring, my son when on the warpath (with) face black 1 

'Indicating victory. 



428 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 
k'Qi. arnarire hutse biic-k'oi, bice 

may he return. When I am on the move, the wind to my face may come, the buffalo 

bis axia. hinne biawakce bac-bapare itsi, batsurak 

towards me (may) gather. This summer my plants (may they be) good, the cherries 

ahui. bare itsi, ba+isande bl hi-sai. biawakce 

plenty. The winter (may it be) good, illness me shall not reach. Summer 

bik'e - raracia awakawi, a^pe arakuxke hl'irak awdkawi. a^pe 

grass new may I see, leaves full-sized when they come may I see. Leaves 

deaxe awakawi. bii'pe basakace aw&kawi. ambiawakuse awakawi, 

leaves yellow may I see. Snowfall the very first may I see. Spring may I see, 

bacbiraxbak'e xaxua itsik'ate awawi. 

my people all in safety may I reach it (the season) with them. 

From various statements it appears that making a ritualistic offering 
to the Sun, whether in the form of an albino buffalo skin or of red cloth, 
was viewed like other ceremonial privileges, i.e., was vested in individuals 
who directly or indirectly derived their authority from a vision. The 
Hardin offering was made by someone else avowedly as a makeshift; 
Medicine-crow's father and grandfather are mentioned as preeminently 
persons who presented the Sun with red cloth; and so forth. 

Offerings are not restricted to the Sun, but may be made to any 
supernatural agency. Pryor Creek derives its name, aru u t-d a ce, i.e., 
Arrow-stream, from the injunction of a mythic dwarf who decreed that all 
the Indians passing a certain spot should shoot arrows into a cleft as an 
offering to him. The legendary incident reacted on actual practice for 
within the lifetime of my informants the rule was followed by the Crow. 1 
Offerings were sometimes made to the fire, to water, or some curiously 
shaped rock, accompanied with some such utterance as, "Eat this, Water, 
so that I may live long." Beads were presented to the medicine rocks 
(bacoritsi'tse) . Of course, the cutting of one's flesh in the quest of a 
vision is also regarded as a form of offering. 

Offerings tended to ensure longevity. An old woman volunteered 
the information that she had made many offerings in her day; hence she 
had lived until her hair had turned gray. 

The sweatlodge (awusud) is a form of offering that plays an im- 
portant part in the life of the Crow Indians and has already been 
described in connection with the Tobacco ceremony. It is clear from the 
best accounts that primarily it was a distinctly ritualistic institution and 
was not indulged in without some definite religious purpose. Nowadays 
anyone may put up a sudatory and sweat, and there are men who have a 
passion for frequent indulgence in sweat-bathing which an interpreter 
compared to that of white people addicted to the cigarette-smoking 

!This volume, 169 f. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 429 

habit. Anciently a sweatlodge was held sacred and might not be erected 
except by one who had acquired the title thereto either by personal vision 
or by purchase. Even those who had the privilege would only sweat, 
according to Bull-all-the-time, when prompted by a dream. Gray-bull 
and Bull-all-the-time agree that formerly only or mostly old people 
went into sudatories. Gray-bull stated that their use for medicinal 
purposes is relatively recent; they were formerly built when going on a 
war party, when returning from a successful raid with a horse or after 
striking a coup, and in connection with the Tobacco society. Bull-all- 
the-time' says people would make conditional pledges to put up a suda- 
tory. "If I get well, I'll erect a sweatlodge." "If I live till the fall, I 
shall make a sweatlodge." According to him the original use of the lodge 
was for old people, later the Crow came to use it for medicines (the 
Tobacco?) and in going on war parties, and finally anyone came to use it 
without particular reason. 

Bull-all-the-time declared that the Moon originated the sweatlodge, 
that formerly sweatlodges were put up in Moon's honor in the evening 
and in Sun's in the morning. Only lately this informant has taken to 
putting up sudatories at noon. The sweatlodge had been his adopted 
father's medicine. According to Gray-bull, the sweatlodge was put up 
in honor of the Sun, who was regarded as the owner. This he remarked, 
appeared from the formula used in making the vow of erection, viz. : — 
masa'ka, ba+itsem act awa-rak, awusua diawawik'. 

My father's clansman, something good camp if I bring to, sweatlodge I shall make. 

The point of this argument is that the stem for father's clansman is 
used in vocative form only when praying to the Sun. Little-rump says 
that in going to war the sweatlodge was erected in honor of Old-woman's- 
Grandson. 

Today the same sweat house frame may be used repeatedly, but in 
the old days when the people were constantly on the move and sweat- 
lodges were much more rarely employed there was little chance to use a 
frame a second time. The number of willows used for the frame varies 
from twelve to one hundred. Medicine-crow, in describing the Tobacco 
ritual, said the number might be one hundred or any number with four 
in the units' place, from fourteen to ninety-four. Three-wolves asserted 
that twelve-willow frames were reckoned less sacred than others and had 
the fireplace on the side instead of in the center. Others did not associate 
the latter detail with the number of sticks but declared that the fashion 
of shifting the fireplace to the side was a recent innovation borrowed 
from the Nez Perce. 



430 Anthropological Papers American, Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Three-wolves furnished the following account of the procedure: — 
The first four stones are put into the fireplace, one by one, by means of a forked 
stick. When the fourth has been deposited, the stone-bearer voices some wish, where- 
upon he may throw in as many rocks as he pleases, two by two. Water is set down by 
the stones. The bathers enter, one by one, never walking in front of the stone-tender. 
The lodge is covered, then one man dips his hand into the water and sprinkles four 
handfuls on the rocks, whereupon four wishes are expressed. The man nearest the 
entrance tells of a dream, such as, "I have seen snow on the ground," or, "I have seen 
horsetracks." The rest cry, "Thanks!" and pray aloud: "May I get there!" (if a 
season has been mentioned.) The door is flung open and the inmates cool off. The 
dreamer recounts a second dream, then the cover is put on again. Now seven hand- 
fuls are poured on the rocks to symbolize the Dipper. After the period of sweating 
the second man from the door tells his dreams, and the lodge is uncovered for a while. 
Next ten cupfuls are poured on the rocks and the third man tells his dreams. The 
fourth time they throw on an uncounted (tsiniusua) 1 number of handfuls. The fourth 
man tells only one dream, then cries, "Throw the door wide open!" All now jump 
up and run into the river. While inside the bathers scourge themselves with horsetail 2 
or sagebrush whips in order to perspire still more. In the smaller lodges five or six 
sweat themselves at a time; in the larger ones from ten to twelve. 

Other informants add some interesting details. Bull-all-the-time 
says that in the winter some men would roll in the snow after a sweat- 
bath. According to him, the lodge is carpeted with sagebrush. Four 
times they pretend to put ise incense on the fireplace, and the fifth time 
they actually do so. This, if I understand my informant correctly, 
takes place before the deposition of the rocks. Gray-bull explained that 
the dirt removed from the fireplace is piled up outside the frame between 
the door and the fire in which the rocks are heated and that no one is 
permitted to pass between. The man to pour water entered first and 
sat down on the left side from one entering; the rest passed in behind 
him, all going on the left side. While the first four rocks were deposited, 
all in the lodge kept quiet. After the fourth stone they all expressed their 
wishes (Three- wolves only mentions the stone-carrier in this connection). 
When the water-pourer has told of the season he has dreamt of, the 
people both inside and outside cry, "Thanks!" Then the door is opened. 
After a while the pourer says, "Close the door! All of us shall get there 3 
together." While the door is open, water is put in and all the bathers 
drink of it. One of them will say, "I am drinking the long rain" (xar- 
titsg'e k'o icbik'). This refers to the long rain in the fall and is equivalent 
to a prayer that the speaker and his companions may live to see the next 
fall. When all have drunk, the dreamer says, "Close the door. I want 



l From tsimi, to count; su, not (plural form). 

'Buffalo tails mounted on short sticks are perhaps more common. 

3 That is, to the season mentioned. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 431 

to drink in peace" (itsik'ata biricbiwik'). Gray-bull describes this drink- 
ing feature as if it belonged to the second intermission; it is not clear 
whether it is restricted to that period or not. As an offering the sweat- 
bathers would tie red cloth to a stick and lean it against the sweatlodge. 
Little-rump says that the stick with the red cloth, for which an eagle 
wing might be substituted, was put on top of the lodge and the owner 
would say, addressing Old-woman's-grandson, "I have made this sweat- 
lodge because you told me to make it. (Ktiricbdpitudc, bd-wi-did-ra'tsic 
hinnem kan-didwak' .) I give you this red cloth (or eagle wing)." On 
the red cloth were marked stars or moons and sometimes a circle to 
represent the sun. The owner sat on the left side for one entering and 
would sing songs; all who came in were expected to sing. The floor of 
the lodge was nicely prepared, being covered with ground-cedar, and 
charcoal was sprinkled on it. Little-rump bought the privilege of making 
a sweatlodge and puts one up twice a year, in the spring and in the fall, 
in obedience to the instructions received at the time of the purchase. 
Sometimes he has made a hundred-willow lodge. 

Women are not excluded from the sweatlodge but they enter it more 
particularly in connection with Tobacco adoptions, when they normally 
sit by their husbands. 

My personal experience with Crow sweatlodges is the following. I 
omit matters of routine described above. In the summer of 1910 
Medicine-crow was telling me about the sweatlodge and offered to take 
me into one since he had intended going in that afternoon anyway. 
For several hours the rocks were heated in a big fire. Medicine-crow, 
One-star, and Plenty-hawk entered the open frame stripped to their gee- 
strings, while I retained my drawers. Into the uncovered lodge were 
passed the rocks, which even then created a terrific heat. When all had 
been passed in, the blankets were thrown on the frame, covering it com- 
pletely and making the lodge pitch dark. When water was thrown on the 
rocks, producing steam, the heat became almost unbearable and I 
availed myself of the utter darkness slightly to raise a flap of one of the 
blankets and thrust my nose into the air. When the blanket was raised 
I saw that my companions were like myself bathed in perspiration. I 
had had enough and withdrew. The Indians assured me I would catch 
cold unless I immediately bathed in the nearby creek, but I declined and 
of course suffered no disagreeable consequences. The Indians continued 
their sweat-bathing in the prescribed fashion and after the final lifting 
of the cover they proceeded to plunge into the cold water of the stream. 



432 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Prayers have been cited in different connections, notably under the 
heading of Visions; also in the earlier part of this chapter. The concept 
of praying is an old one, and a modern church is designated as ara- 
tsiwakd+u, the place where they pray. Women as well as men offered 
prayers. Young-crane said she only prayed when there was a specific 
reason for it. For example, when her kin went out to fight she would 
thus address Old-Man-Coyote or the Sun : — 

Isa'kawuatakat, bl wakiite napioreti. 

Dear Old-Man-Coyote, those around me may they not be killed. 

When one of her relatives went away somewhere, she offered a corre- 
sponding prayer: — 

Isa'kawuatokat, Itsik'ata k'ui. 

Dear Old-Man-Coyote, in safety may he come back. 

When her husband was killed, she mourned his loss and cut off a finger 
joint, but did not pray then. 

In smoking it was proper to point the pipe first up, then down, next 
offering it to the four cardinal directions. In so doing, Gray-bull would 
pray to the four winds; he had learned the prayer from Bell-rocks, to 
whom he was indebted for other religious instruction. Occasion- 
ally he also offered smoke to the full-moon. Men owning medicine-pipes 
also pointed them in the manner explained above. 



TABOOS. 

Tribal taboos are by no means prominent, and individual ones are 
naturally based on specific visionary instructions. Maximilian mentions 
the superstition against smoking a pipe in a lodge where footgear is sus- 
pended; he also states that when men smoke in a group each one takes 
not more than three puffs, whereupon he hands the pipe with a special 
sort of movement to his left-hand neighbor. 1 I am inclined to regard 
the former custom as a purely personal regulation. Since the connection 
between moccasins and smoking is not obvious, it is worth recalling 
that according to Lewis and Clark the Shoshoni as a sign of friendship 
removed their moccasins before smoking. Personally, I failed to get this 
corroborated, but an old Lemhi told me that medicinemen formerly 
took off their moccasins when smoking during the treatment of a 
patient. 2 Mr. Spier learned of a similar rule in the case of certain Kiowa 
Sun dance participants. 

Taboos were common in connection with a batsirape. In this case 
the usual consequence of a transgression was the appearance of the 
batsirape. For example, there is an old woman whose batsirape does not 
like to hear crying. Once her grandchild was crying, and a cedar (spray?) 
began to come out of her mouth. 

In this as in some other instances the observance of the rule is not 
necessarily dependent on a person's volition. One informant said that 
he was told never to allow the young of any animal to be taken to his 
lodge. Some one must have taken some young animal there unknown to 
the owner, which would account for the rheumatism that has afflicted 
him for eleven years. 

Food taboos were sometimes imposed at the time of a vision or 
when medicines were bought. Thus, when Gray-bull slept in the Tobacco 
garden, he was ordered not to eat the manifolds of a buffalo or cow; and 
when he secured some bird medicine he was told not to eat birds eggs. 
He was still obeying these prohibitions at the time of my interview. 



'Maximilian, ibid., 400. 
2 Lowie, this series, vol. 2, 213. 



433 



MISCELLANEOUS DATA. 

Jim Carpenter tells me that children must not lie on their stomachs, 
facing the fire, and are scolded if they do so, because it is a sign that their 
mother will die soon. 

If a cocoon (ak'irewe) is tied round a baby's neck, it will not readily 
wake up; hence this device is resorted to in the case of infants who cry too 
much. 

Horned-toads were not regarded as persons, but they were believed 
to understand the Crow language. Girls would take a horned-toad, lay 
it on its ventral (?) side, gently rub it, and then say, "May I become a 
good bead- worker! May my children be born without difficulty! " Then 
they slipped the animal down inside the neck part of their dress and 
allowed it to fall down. A boy would say, "May I be able to make a good 
bow and arrows!" Gray-bull consulted horned-toads with regard to the 
location of buffalo, judging by the direction in which the animals faced. 

Before going on the warpath a man would sometimes kill a buffalo, 
take some of the blood from its shoulderblade, and spill some badger 
blood over it. In this mixture he could see a reflection of himself. If 
he saw himself with a wrinkled face, it meant that he would live to be an 
old man; if his image showed the scalp cut off, it meant that this fate 
would befall him. In the latter case he would be afraid to go on the war- 
path.' If the hair of the image fell down over the face, it meant a natural 
death, while blood streaming down of course signified a violent end. In 
reply to the question whether he had ever used this form of divination 
himself, my informant, Bull-all-the-time, said that he was afraid of it 
(btitsirik'). Gray-bull said that this form of divination was not in vogue 
in his day, because people were afraid to use it. However, his grand- 
father had resorted to it and, having seen his reflection with white hair 
and wrinkled face, he became very brave and would thereafter dash into 
the midst of the enemy and wrest away their guns. 

Wolf's-white-belly (tset-sre-tsiac) once went to herd horses. He 
watered them, took them out to the hills, and laid down a rope. Then 
he took his saddle and sat on it. While watching his horses, he felt some- 
thing move under his seat. He thought he would go home, took off his 
blanket, and tried to take the rope, but it had turned into a snake. He 
had to leave the rope there and go home without it. Next morning he 
came where he had left it. The snake had turned back into a rope as 
before. 



434 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 435 

Scolds-the-bear was about fourteen years old when the Crow were 
camped fifteen miles above the site of Forsyth on the Yellowstone River. 
A boy about sixteen years old, being the oldest of the boys, had the rest 
gather round him for a leader. They played being on a war party and 
imitated warriors. They took bark and used it as a scalp. This boy's 
father saw them and said, "Two days from now I'll send my boy on a 
war party and all of you shall go with him." He was roused by the boy's 
playing and had this announced by the crier. After the boys had started 
and gone some distance they waited. Scolds-the-bear was in the party. 
The boy's father also went along, but his son was leader; he had two 
center tail feathers of a magpie tied to the back of his head and at the 
bottom there were red-dyed plumes. This was his medicine. Only one 
white man's hut was standing where we camped in the day. In the eve- 
ning the boy's father had disappeared. At night he returned. "All you 
boys, saddle up, there's one enemy there whom we'll fight." In this basin 
they came upon a man in an Indian coat with a knife in his hand. This 
man ran after the boy. They could not kill him. The smallest boys got 
scared and merely watched. He chased one boy, when another ran be- 
hind him and shot him in the back. One boy hit him first, thus gaining 
a first coup. It was a long-haired man of about forty ; they stripped off his 
clothing and scalped him. "All you boys, I'll give you a chance to look 
at it tomorrow; don't turn back to look at it," said the leader's father. 
They went home and after eating went to bed. The next morning the}' 
brought horses, which happened to go to the place of the killing. Scolds- 
the-bear chanced to go for horses. Though told not to look, he dis- 
obeyed. What they had killed was only a rotten piece of wood shaped 
like a man. The arms and legs were only of ground-cedar. The knife 
was a real knife, which like the clothing belonged to the man who made 
it. The scalp they took off was that of a former enemy and had been 
placed on the head of the manikin. When they scalped, the blood looked 
as if fresh; the next day it was dry like an old scalp. The leader of that 
boys' party is living still. There are many other witnesses to this 
bakumMriu (p. 347). 

Long ago the Crow suffered from a heavy storm in the early part of 
the spring; when the grass came up and colts were born, they had to fix 
blankets for the colts so as to protect them against dying from the cold. 
The people called the storm Dog's-vulva (micg e'-cirec) . One spring the 
storm was especially violent and blankets were provided for all the new- 
born colts. One man coming home through the storm caught sight of a 
man wearing a hat, overcoat, and gloves. Putting down his load, the 



436 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

Crow took his gun and killed the stranger. After returning he told the 
people he had killed Dog's-vulva. They would not believe it. He said he 
would prove it. All the people came out to see what he had killed, being 
very anxious about it. When they arrived, they found an old piece of 
wood. Since that time they never suffered from that storm. 

Mr. Simms has described and figured a peculiar stone monument 
situated in the Big Horn range in Wyoming just across the Montana 
boundary. From a stone 'hub' about 3 feet high he found 27 spokes, 
i.e., lines of stones, radiating to a stone circle about 245 feet in diameter; 
at or near the periphery there were seven smaller stone structures. 1 
According to Flat-dog this monument was regarded by the Crow as the 
Sun's lodge, i.e., as a lodge made for the Sun and used by him as a camp- 
ing-place. As a boy Flat-dog walked through it, counting fifty steps. 
Many of the Crow would go there to fast; the structure has been there 
as long back as any period alluded to by previous generations. Those 
who fasted there would sometimes hear steps of some one walking, but 
looking up would see nothing. Of such a one the other people were wont 
to say, "He is a coward, that is why he did not see a vision." This meant 
that he had been terrified by the sound and had looked round, thus los- 
ing the vision he would otherwise have secured. 

The High Lodge dance {ac-hdtsg i-risud) was never performed by the 
Crow until about twenty-five years ago (in 1914), when they saw the 
Nez Perce dance it. A member of that tribe told Old-clog the following 
story. One very cold winter evening a young man fell sick and died as 
the darkness was setting in. The people cried all night. They said, 
"We'll dig a hole and bury him tomorrow." In the morning they built a 
fire. The dead man rose and said, "Cook, I want to eat." They cooked 
breakfast and he ate. He called for the Nez Perce chief and said to him, 
"I wish to talk with you." "All right." "I am talking with you now, 
but at noon my father will take me back. Bid all the young men in your 
tribe prepare a feast and bring it in." They did so. "Let all men come 
into the tent." When all were there and had sat down, he continued: "I 
am going to sing; learn my song." He had a bell in his hand, which he 
shook, singing his song till all inside the lodge knew it. "All shall sing it 
now." When he felt sure that all knew it, he rose and danced, singing 
at the same time. He told them he should die and was not to be buried at 
once. All were to stand in two rows facing each other and were to sing and 
dance to the song. During this performance he was to be washed and laid 

>S. C. Simms, A Wheel-shaped Stone Monument in Wyoming, {American Anthropologist, N. S., 
vol. 5, 1903), 107 seq. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 4:37 

down. Then a hole was to be dug and he should be buried. "Hereafter, 
whenever any one dies in the winter, do exactly the same way." There- 
after they were to dance for four days and buffalo would flock from all 
directions so there would be no trouble about the meat supply. The 
3^oung man did not order this of his own accord but for some being above. 
When the Nez Perce observed this ceremony they camped in a circle; 
not so the Crow, who did not regard it as sacred. 



APPENDIX. 

The Five Brothers. 1 

Once there was a big Crow camp on the Yellowstone belonging to 
the Many-lodges division. All the Indians were seized with cramps and 
died except five boys. These picked up their bows, arrows, and sinews, 
in search of other Indians. They had a flint to strike fire with, but it got 
worn out, so they were obliged to drill fire. They lived on birds and rab- 
bits. In the season when the meadowlarks grow fat they sighted a big 
camp in the Big Horn Mountains. They said, "Let us wait before going 
in." On the side of a watering-place there was a thick brush, where they 
cooked and ate some meadowlarks late at night. They slept. The next 
day the men watering their horses saw the five boys. One man tending a 
herd turned them loose and entered the river to swim. He came out, 
carrying his clothes on his arm. The three older boys were asleep. Their 
birds and rabbits were cooking. The other men who were there did not 
invite the boys, but this man said, "Come with me to my tipi; wake up 
your brothers." These three were bashful at first. He said, "Come over 
and eat with me." "Wait till we have eaten our rabbits here." "Come, 
you will have a better meal there." When done, he took them to his 
camp. His first wife had died and his second wife's husband had fallen 
in battle. They had no children of their own and the woman's brothers 
had been killed by the enemy; her mother was living in another tipi. 
The man said to his wife : "You have been worrying about 3 r our brothers; 
I have brought you these to be your brothers." She sent the two young- 
est to her mother next door and said, "I am your sister, you are my 
brothers." She cooked a great deal of meat, giving them a better meal 
than they had had. "Have you enough?" "Yes." She made a bed for 
them. 

The boys got fatter. They left, saying they were going to fast and 
he should not worry about them. Each chose a place of his own, the 
one a point, a second a knoll, and so on. One went to a gap and saw a 
snake fighting with a rock-lizard (etdrire = horned-toad?) . The snake had 
eaten up all its young. Where the boy was walking there was a slide 
and he followed the lizard to a cave, where it disappeared. It came out 
again with a male, hiding under a grass-grown knoll. The snake passed 
and the male caught it by its throat. It tried to wriggle loose. The 
female remained hidden, not knowing what to do. The snake could not 

l This tale was found among my notes after the publication of other myths. 

438 



1922.] Louie, Religion of the Craw. 439 

free itself and died. 1 The toad cut it open, and the little ones came out 
still alive. All the toads went where the parents had come from. The 
visionary as a result of his experience became a doctor. 

The boy who was fasting on a point seated himself and looked down. 
He saw a light, but in the morning he could not find it. On the fourth 
morning he planted a stake in the spot where he thought the light might 
be. At night he saw the light and the stake a little above it. He went 
there and found a black bacoritsi'tse on top of some buffalo chips. This 
was the source of the light. The third boy saw a vision making him a 
good shot ; he had four arrows. The two youngest boys did not fast but 
stayed at home. 

A young man who had killed two deer passed the fasters. He said, 
"You must be hungry, pick out what you want to eat." They selected 
the hindquarters, front legs, and paunch, and asked him to build a fire 
for them. He did so; they cooked, ate, and went home. When they got 
home, the boy who had seen the sacred rock hung it up above his pillow. 
His brother-in-law was out hunting and killed a buffalo. His wife was 
going to make a parfleche but the boy said, "Make me a medicine bag 
(Mcuci)." They went to the river and painted the bag, dug up sweet- 
grass, dried it, smoked it and put it into the container on top of the medi- 
cine rock. 

The boy who had seen the snake asked his brother-in-law, "What is a 
weasel-necklace ffita-ware-apia)?" They did not know and sent for 
the older people, who said, "Our chief's son has one round his neck." 
It was made of the darkest part of an otter's skin decorated with weasel- 
skin and shells {maxdxid) ; only well-to-do children wore it. The follow- 
ing morning the chief said, "Let us move camp to where there are buffalo." 
They moved. The boys left. The doctor could hear what was said at a 
great distance. He heard his brother-in-law say, "I wish my brother-in- 
law were here to go with the hunters." The buffalo were chased and 
killed. The two younger boys got a man (?) and he gave them a buffalo 
to choose from, saying, "I'll carry it over to your grandmothers.' " The 
three older boys killed a fat buffalo with their medicine arrows. The 
young man took the two boys home. The three older boys butchered and 
divided their buffalo and got back late at night. They heard that the 
chief's son had been thrown from his horse and that his head was cracked. 
All night one could hear drums beating and the doctors' singing. 



■Among the Paviotso of Nevada I discovered a strong belief in the power of the horned-toad to 
overcome a rattlesnake. 



440 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

The young man said to the two boys, "You may keep the horse and 
saddle or bring it back as you please." The woman said, "Bring the 
horse back." They brought it back. The two boys told their three older 
brothers about it, and they said, "That is right, don't take what those 
people give you, we are orphans. We'll pay them back some time. The 
only ones we have any tiling to do with are our sister and our brother-in- 
law." 

The doctor said to his brother-in-law, "Brother-in-law, tell the chief 
that we will doctor his boy." They wanted to get his necklace. Their 
sister said, "No, you are too young." Then they did not say anything. 
Their brother-in-law wanted to tell the chiefs, but Ins wife would not let 
him. He slipped out and told Cunning-man. 1 Cunning-man went to 
the chief and said, ' Tut all your presents together and go outside. The five 
boys over there want to doctor your son. Let no one pass in front of 
them. Have the door face the boys' tipi." Then it was announced that 
no one should cross the doctor's path. The five boys were glad. Four of 
them went ahead and the doctor came last. The two little ones sat down 
by their mother, the two older ones went to the foot of the bed, and the 
doctor stood by the door and stamped on the ground. The sick boy had 
been unconscious and was bleeding from the nose. When the doctor 
stamped on the ground, the patient groaned. The doctor came closer and 
stamped on the ground again. The boy sat up. A third time he did it, 
and the boy braced himself up. He went nearer and stamped the ground 
in front of the boy like a buffalo, turned back and ran for the door. The 
boy rose, followed him round and out of the tipi and came back again 
panting. He sat down and said, "Mother, I am hungry, give me some- 
thing to eat." The chief was glad and gave them all presents and invited 
them to stay, but they would not do so. The boys said to their brother- 
in-law, "This is the first good thing we can do for you. You may keep 
these presents. The chief heard about the necklace and brought it to 
them. "That is what we wanted." They told their brother-in-law, 
"We are going on the warpath; do not tell anyone. If anyone asks, say 
'They left me; I don't know where they have gone.' " 

They started. The rock-visionary was leader. They had been gone 
two days when their brother-in-law was summoned to the council. 
"Where are your brothers-in-law?" "I don't know, they have left me." 
One man said in mockery, "If they should bring a big herd of horses, we 
should laugh." The doctor heard this from where they were and told 

l This volume, 250. 



1922.] Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 441 

his brothers. The rock-visionary said, "We'll see whether they are going 
to laugh." On the fifth day they saw an enemy with forty head of horses. 
They waited till he had halted. He did not go far. The horses were 
grazing. The rock-boy said, "Wait till he is asleep." He went up and blew 
out the enemy's brains. There were two especially fine horses, a pinto and 
a bay, the remainder were good too. It was a Piegan they had killed. 
The rock-visionary was leader, the arrow-owner killed the enemy, the 
doctor struck coups, the two little ones took the two best horses, the re- 
mainder were divided among them all. They returned. Before they got 
to the camp, the three older ones went ahead at night and got to their 
sister. They were hungry, and she cooked for them. She asked, ''Where 
are your brothers?" "With the horses." She gave them breakfast 
for them. They told their brother-in-law to sing praise-songs. "If they 
ask you about it, say that you have had a good dream." So he acted 
accordingly, saying he had had a good dream about his brothers-in-law. 

Soon the boys came into camp. Their brother-in-law took charge of 
their horses. The young man began to sing about the one who had 
mocked them, using the words he had uttered. After the horses had been 
corralled, they returned to the tipi. The women came and brought pem- 
mican. "This is my sister's son." The leader of the war part}' threw 
their meat away. "When we were poor, they did nothing for us. We are 
going to deal only with our relatives and pay the two others who were 
kind to us." So they gave a horse to the man who had given them the 
deer and another to the man who had given meat to their younger broth- 
ers. "All the rest belong to you, brother-in-law and sister." 

Not long after this the five boys were gone, no one knew where. 
The man said, "My brothers-in-law are gone." "You need not worry 
about them, they are men.' - They came back again with plenty of 
horses, all of which they gave to their brother-in-law. At this time the 
chief had a daughter. Young men wanted to buy her, but she refused 
their offers, though her father wished to own the horses offered. At last 
he said, "I want you to marry the doctor." So one night the girl came 
to where the three older boys were sleeping and lay down with the doctor. 
The following morning the brother-in-law roused his wife, saying "Your 
brothers are married." She looked and it was the chief's daughter. So 
she cooked for them and woke them up. "Which one have you come 
for?" she asked her sister-in-law. "I rejected all my suitors, and my 
father told me to come here, saying he would help me with property, so 
I have come to marry him." So they were married and after a while the 
young woman had her mother make moccasins for them and they went 



442 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

on the warpath. They brought back seven head of horses, which they 
gave to the father-in-law. The three older ones were named Medicine- 
stone, What-he-makes-is-medicine (the doctor), and Medicine-shot. 

Some time after this the young woman invited them all to her tipi. 
The boys consulted with their sister, who said, "Yes, but don't go with 
him, he is married now." They went after buffalo, the people being short 
of meat. They shared the game and turned over the meat to the young 
woman's mother, who said to her daughter, "That is what I want. You 
refused your suitors but you met the right one." 

The people moved. In the winter they camped. It snowed so 
they could not go hunting, and all their meat supply was consumed. 
If anyone killed a deer, his meat was soon gone. All the Crow were 
starving, so that they ate roseberries and boiled hair or deer hide for 
food. The mother-in-law spoke to her daughter. "Talk to your hus- 
band about this; see whether he can help us." She spoke to him, but he 
said nothing in reply. He saw his sister, returned and said, "I will get 
meat but they must get a beaver's castoreum." The girl told her 
father and the crier announced it. Men asked to see the performance. 
"You may come in, but don't touch the door and don't go out." He got 
his medicine, which was hanging up, and they brought the castoreum. 
When all were in the tipi, the medicine rock was exposed; some of its 
sweetgrass covering was chopped fine and was smoked for incense. The 
stone was greased all over with the beaver musk, then it got smoky and 
foggy inside. All the smoke passed out of the smoke-hole and as it did 
so the clouds outside began to part, the snowfall abated and it cleared 
up. When all the smoke had passed out of the lodge, there were no more 
clouds. The whole camp rejoiced and asked the young man to help them 
get meat. "I have done enough, the buffalo will come." He told the 
women not to chop wood. The men hunted buffalo for three days, killing 
plenty of them. They were told not to break any buffalo backbones. 
They killed so many that each family had two rows of jerked meat about 
twenty feet long. 

The shaman's wife told her father to tell the Indians to blacken their 
faces since some of the enemy were coming. It was in the spring of the 
year. The enemies came; the Crow killed two Piegan and had a big 
round dance. The young men assembled and sang a song throughout 
the camp: "What I said is coming true, I am going." There was no 
more sickness, all people lived well since the coming of the boys. The 
doctor had his wife decorated with elk teeth. 



1922.1 



Lowie, Religion of the Crow. 443 



The three older brothers were married, only the two younger ones 
were still single. The rock-owner said, "I have been told to go over to 
One-tree {mare-tatj and live there." He was leader of the camp and 
everything was done in accordance with his commands. He went to the 
Yellowstone. All the country was covered with buffalo. The Crow 
kept in the woods out of sight of the game. They continued hunting 
buffalo, making two trips a day, and had an abundance of meat, This 
was in the winter time. It was so cold that the grease froze into solid 
condition in the morning. The rock-owner told his wife not to break any 
stones in their tipi. One day he went to his sister to sleep. He was told 
that his mother-in-law had cracked bones in the tipi. He told his wife 
about it. She went to her mother. "You broke a rock in here." "No, 
I never did." "How can my husband lie? Let me look." She saw that 
a rock had been cracked. She scolded her mother, "That's the worst 
thing you could have done." The mother went out crying. The herald 
announced that the enemy were stealing horses. "Get your best horses, 
we'll pursue them." They took the best horses. Four young men went 
along. One young man had no horse left and asked the shaman to help 
him recover his horses. "No, I did not go along because my mother-in- 
law broke the stone in my lodge." The young man went away. Another 
man whose son had been killed by the Piegan came to the shaman and 
asked him to help him get revenge, saying, "I have been mourning for a 
long time." But the shaman refused, giving the same reasons. This 
man cried. The war party was waiting for this shaman, but he sent a 
message that he was not going. However, when he heard the old man 
cry, he decided to go. He got two horses. "If I get killed, it will be well; 
you may have my horses." He followed and caught up with the party. 
He made medicine in the enemy's tracks. "I was not going to come, but 
since you asked me so hard, I came." He filled a pipe with tobacco and 
smoked on the buffalo chips lying on the tracks. 

They started and sent scouts, who reported, "They are moving in a 
coulee." The warriors asked the rock-owner what to do. He told them 
to run immediately, not waiting for himself. His two young brothers 
were far in the lead, the elder one struck first-coup, the other dismounted 
and captured the enemy's gun. The Piegan ran into a wash, dug a pit 
and fought there. The rock-owner was far away, smoking. The man 
who had sought revenge said to him, "I asked for revenge. What are 
you doing here?" "I see I shall have to go no matter what comes of it." 
He ran into the thickest part of the fight and was wounded in the chest 
so that he was nearly dead when he was picked up. His four brothers 



'A little above the site of Miles City. 



444 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXV, 

were furious; they were going to kill the man who had asked him to go 
out. "It is as though you had killed him yourself; we'll kill you if he 
dies." He did not answer. They returned down-hearted because their 
leader was shot. He willed his rock to the brother who was a doctor. 
This one said, "I'll try to help you first, I don't know whether I can." 
He treated him and he improved, then he began to have faith again. 

In the camp the people were down-hearted. The next day the doctor 
made them all stand toward the middle. There was no water to be seen 
in the river on account of the ice covering it. He went toward the river. 
A herald proclaimed that no one was to cross his tracks. The doctor 
made his patient dive into the water up to his neck four times. The river 
was covered with blood. He brought him back to the tipi, heated a 
stone, put cloth over it, and rubbed it over the sore part. Then the 
shaman was cured, and the people had a big dance. • 

The youngest of the brothers said, "As soon as the snow has dis- 
appeared, I am going to hunt medicine for myself." The oldest one 
answered: "You had better not go, you have all you want." "Some- 
thing has always troubled me, I want to find out for myself." The boy 
left. The boys were the wealthiest people in camp and had everything 
they wished for. When this young boy left, he told his brother-in-law 
not to worry. He made his own arrows and killed meadowlarks, taking 
the first wing feathers to feather his arrows. He traveled about, trying 
to find out something. While walking he saw some cherry trees and 
among them some smoke. He sneaked up towards it and carefully 
approached. He saw a tipi with holes in it, and through one of them he 
saw a woman cutting lodge pegs (i k'ace). This woman was Hicictawla. 
She had a kettle on the fire. He entered. "Well, well, my child, I am 
all alone. Where do you come from? Do you know me? Is that the 
reason you have come?" "I was traveling and saw the smoke, so I 
thought I should get something to eat." She had her tipi by the spring 
and she was sitting on one side. "Child, sit here." She spread some- 
thing for him. She took out a parfleche of young buffalo skin and opened 
it. There were nice lumps of fat and pemmican in it. The boy ate the 
meal, then went and cut more cherry trees, got shafts for arrows, bit 
them with his teeth and stuck them all around. "Son, I'll tell you some- 
thing. For a long time I have given you visions. You have not a 
strong will (ir&axe), that is why it has taken so long a time. I have been 
looking for you for a long time, but everything is the same to you (di 
xdxik'). Now I warn you not to go over there where the point of the hill 
.is." (The tale here merges into a recital of Old-Woman's-Grandchild's 
adventm'es 1 with the snakes and the sucking monster.) 

'This volume, 52 seq. 



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